Frozen Flame
by Dreamingfox
Summary: Ranma's stuck in a rut, but does he want to get out of it or has he had enough? But he's not the only one seeking answers.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes –

For those of you who have followed my writing, or at least read some of my fics, this will come as a surprise as this fic is not intended to cross over with any other series though the idea is borrowed from a video game. No, I do not own Ranma ½ or the game that this idea is borrowed from.

Please Read and Review – enjoy.

# # # # #

The gentle afternoon breeze bent the lazy blades of grass and sent ripples across the seemingly still surface of the stream. This was not how Ranma had envisioned spending the day after his wedding, though in all honesty he really hadn't considered getting married at all. Sure, he knew that it was inevitable, but he'd always supposed that that day would be in the distant, vague, future, not yesterday.

It didn't help that the chaos that had become his life had also become part of the failed wedding. As skilled as the young heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts was even he knew better than to expect his father's plan to hold a surprise wedding to go according to plan. With all the various master martial artists, their egos, and rivalries in play the wedding was doomed from the beginning.

Ranma couldn't help but wonder if perhaps his engagements weren't doomed as well. Sure, most of the various women (and some men) that Genma had sold him off to had called their engagements off on their end, but the three that remained had proven to be more than enough to nearly kill him several times.

It didn't help that Akane Tendo, the first official fiancée, was a tomboy with a very short fuse. She'd hit him more times in the six months that he knew her than she'd broken bricks during training in her entire life. It also didn't help that they seemed to always be arguing with each other and that she protested being engaged to him.

Then there was the possessive Chinese Amazon Shampoo and her tribal laws that demanded that she marry him just because he'd bested her in combat. Sure, Shampoo probably was the hottest of the fiancées, but she was also the craziest and most manipulative of the three as well.

And then there was Ukyo, his childhood friend whom his father had wronged. Sure, she was cute, and she could cook (something that Akane couldn't do for the life of her) but she was his best friend. As much as he knew that she could possibly handle things, he wasn't sure that he wanted to put their friendship on the line. Of all the people around him she was the one he trusted the most, though sometimes that proved to work against him as she had romantic designs for him as well.

Sighing, Ranma looked up at the sky even as he contemplated his life.

# # # # #

The smell of cinnamon filled the dark, smoke filled room. Though he hated using his scented incense sticks Hikaru Gosunkugi knew that he had to use those. Having spent a virtual fortune to acquire the crystalline structure before him the runty youth knew that this was his last chance to get rid of the blasted Ranma Saotome.

In a world ruled by technology few people ever considered consulting the mystical arts. Even in Nerima people tended to rationalize things away, though some had come to accept that magic did exist, they only did so because they had seen far more than the average person did.

If those fools who had carelessly discarded the Frozen Flame only knew what it could do… but they were fools, just like Ranma Saotome.

Having observed the cursed fool over the past six months Hikaru knew all the places that Ranma frequented. Though he didn't know where exactly Ranma was, the mystical markings he'd placed throughout Nerima were keyed to Ranma's presence. Seeing one of his markers glowing as Ranma approached the respective rune, the runty boy smiled.

Now was the perfect time for him to extract his revenge. If everything went according to his plan he'd erase the cursed Saotome from the face of the earth. No one would remember him. No one would care that he wasn't around. And Akane Tendo would be alone, ripe for Gosunkugi's taking.

An evil light reflected off the Frozen Flame as the crystalline structure slowly unfolded, it's ancient magic coming to life as the vengeful youth began to recite the magical verses needed to activate the artifact.

X X X X X

The eerie, glowing light caught the pigtailed boy's attention as he lay on the sloped ground by the stream/canal. Sitting up, he turned to the odd spectacle. A half-buried cinder block with an odd marking glowed as though it was on fire, yet it radiated cold.

A wave of nausea ran through the young martial artist, forcing him to clutch at his stomach. It felt as though he'd been force-fed some of Akane's cooking. Groaning he closed his eyes.

Suddenly the pain vanished.

Opening his eyes, Ranma looked at the now, not glowing cinder block. Shrugging, he wondered if perhaps he wasn't just hungry – it had been a while since he'd eaten after all.

Nimbly he sprang to his feet, landing gracefully like the expert martial artist that he was before he set off for the Tendo's house. As usual the pigtailed young man took the quickest and most direct path, hopping from roof top to roof top. It wasn't until he'd reached the second block that he noticed the startled cries and screams, probably from women that the old letch was terrorizing.

Looking around expectantly, Ranma wondered just where the perverted grandmaster and founder of Anything Goes Martial Arts was.

Instinctively he dodged the battered and dirty boot that was thrown at him. Looking around for the source of the attack he noted the outraged woman holding a towel about her bosom as she sought to cover herself while also avenging herself.

"Sorry," he shouted as he leapt down to the street.

It was the early evening; perhaps he'd startled a few bathing women accidently. Maybe it wasn't the old letch's fault that the women were upset. At least the woman's undergarments had still been hanging in the window.

Reaching the Tendo's Ranma waved at Kasumi as the eldest Tendo daughter washed the sidewalk.

"Hey, Kasumi," he said with a friendly wave.

The woman turned around to look at him, "Such a flattery – there's no need to be so kind."

Ranma blinked. Had the failed wedding gotten to Kasumi? She looked so old… and her hair had started to gray.

"No wonder Kasumi came home tonight," the woman that looked like an aged Kasumi said. "And who might you be?"

"Quite kidding around Kasumi," the pigtailed boy said as he took another step towards her.

"Kasumi is my daughter," the woman said with a blush, "it's been years since anyone mistook us. But your kindness and flattery will go a long ways. I'll try to smooth things over with my husband so that he won't be too rough with you."

Ranma blinked. Something was seriously wrong here.

"What was your name?"

"Ranma, Ranma Saotome," he said automatically.

The woman that looked like Kasumi froze, her warmth in her eyes and smile suddenly vanishing. "Why don't I show you in," the Kasumi look-alike suggested as she turned to lead him into the compound.

Ranma absently followed her in, not even bothering to note that the yard wasn't wrecked or that there weren't any repairmen around.

"Please, have a seat," the graying Kasumi offered. "I'll get my husband and Kasumi."

Slipping off his shoes Ranma knelt down. '_Either Kasumi's finally lost it or Nabiki's finally found something on her to get her to play this part down_.'

The sound of hushed voices in the hallway and kitchen told him that the conspirators were meeting and talking.

"He says his name is Ranma Saotome," Kasumi said.

"It-it must be a coincidence," Soun Tendo stammered. "Saotome is a common name. And even though Ranma may be an unusual name I'm sure that there are probably a few young men with that name."

"Perhaps this is why Kasumi was so hesitant to tell us about him," the woman who looked and sounded like Kasumi whispered.

"Yes, we'll have to talk with her about this," Soun grumbled.

"You know it's rude to listen in to someone else's conversation," a familiar voice said.

Without knowing it, Ranma had scooted over to the paper thin wall to better hear the secret conversation.

"Akane," he said, sitting up straight. Looking at the youngest Tendo daughter he blinked. "When did you get hair extensions?"

"So Kasumi's told you my name?" Akane said as she looked down at the pigtailed martial artist. Wearing a sweaty and dirty gi and pants, the long haired girl held herself with an air of confidence and power that was very unusual for Ranma. Even when she'd consumed Happosai's super strength soba she hadn't been this confident. "I guess she failed to tell you everything about us though."

An odd tension filled the air between them as Akane glared at him. Having gotten used to it over the past six months or so, Ranma didn't flinch.

"Are you really Ranma Saotome?" she asked as she slipped off her shoes and entered the room.

"Of course I am," he replied, locking eyes with her. _'Man, they're really putting on a show.'_

Pulling away from his steady gaze, Akane looked him over once again.

"I can't believe she's dating a guy with that name," she mumbled.

"What's wrong with my name?" he exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down," Nabiki hissed as the family mercenary slithered into the room. Wearing her usual jeans and tight shirt she also eyed Ranma.

Finally, the viper shows herself, the blue eyed boy thought as he turned to face the middle Tendo sibling. "What are you guys playing at Nabs?"

The short haired Tendo sibling didn't even appear fazed at the nickname, though she did glare at him more intently.

"I guess big sis never got around to telling you about the Saotomes," she replied with a cold gaze. "But you'll get that soon enough."

Nabiki calmly walked over to her sister, folding her arms as she looked at him.

"Mother, Father – I don't know what you're talking about," Kasumi said gently as she walked down the hallway.

"There's a boy named Ranma Saotome who's here to see you," the Tendo patriarch stated as he ushered his daughter into the greeting room.

"B-but I don't know anyone named Ranma Saotome," she exclaimed.

"Then why is he here?" the other woman, the older Kasumi asked. "You don't think that Genma is crazy enough...?"

Looking up at the three as they entered the room Ranma blinked. The remarkable similarities between mother and daughter were never so evident. Having never even seen a picture of Mrs. Tendo he had always assumed that she looked like a mix between her three daughters, but seeing her standing beside her eldest daughter Ranma realized just how easily anyone could have confused the two. Sure, there were the crow's feet and a few other wrinkles, and the gray hairs, but other than that, they looked virtually identical.

But it was the sight of a crippled and scarred Soun Tendo that told him that he wasn't really in the Tendo house, or at least not in the one he knew. Limping into the room, it was clear that Soun wasn't just holding onto Kasumi's arm to usher her into the room, he was doing so to help support his body weight as he walked into the room as his right leg seemed unable to bend or at least support any weight.

Though it was traditional for him to kneel when sitting with an honored guest, the Tendo patriarch sat in a chair, his wife standing beside him even as the Kasumi moved to the side and knelt down.

A wave of nausea nearly made Ranma vomit as part of his mind put together the pieces even as the rest of his consciousness refused to accept the apparent truth.

Stealing a glance at the two younger Tendo daughters he realized that this Akane was very different from the one he knew. Sure, there was the long hair tied up in a ponytail and her confident posture, but her face and neck were more defined – lacking the lingering baby fat that made his Akane cute when she smiled. This Akane had harder, sharper facial features as though she never smiled. And her muscles were much more defined, showing a level of physical strength that the Akane he knew lacked. Watching as the ponytailed Akane moved to kneel beside her sisters against the side wall, Ranma noted how this Akane seemed to move less awkwardly than the one he knew.

"Son," Soun said as he locked eyes with Ranma, "are you really Ranma Saotome?"

"Yeah," the pigtailed boy replied. "I'm Ranma Saotome, why?"

"Are you the son of Genma and Nodoka Saotome?" the woman he had mistaken for Kasumi asked.

Ranma nodded.

"That's impossible," Soun said as his eyes narrowed.

Cold, pain filled eyes held Ranma's gaze. It was clear that this gray haired Soun Tendo was not the care-free and easily intimidated Soun Tendo that he knew.

"Genma's son died ten years ago to the day," Soun stated. His hand trembled even as he clenched his fist and pressed it against his thigh. "If he had survived I suppose that he'd be as old as you are now."

Ranma's mouth suddenly went dry. Fighting to find the strength to say that the man before him was wrong, the pigtailed boy simply couldn't control his throat and mouth. "H-how?"

"We don't know the specifics," Mrs. Tendo said as she placed her hand on her husband's shoulder, "but the boy died from the injuries he suffered during his training."

Scanning his memories, Ranma thought back to ten years ago. "Neko-ken…"

Soun's eyes widened as he caught what the pigtailed boy said.

"Genma went crazy at the loss of his son," Mrs. Tendo said, clearly not catching what Ranma had uttered or the look on her husband's face. "He tried to kidnap the children of other martial arts masters, hoping to replace his son with the kidnapped children."

"Father and other masters intervened," Akane explained.

"They caught him red-handed," Nabiki added. "Of course he refused to admit any wrongdoing, and a fight broke out. Our father was injured by the man he called his friend. You showing up here makes things worse."

Ranma clenched his fist.

"You can't be Ranma Saotome," Akane growled. "Get the hell out of here you bastard! Tell whoever put you up to this that we'll let them go this time, but if we see your face around here again I'm going to break your arms and legs!"

Ranma trembled. '_This isn't right. Something's wrong here_.' "I am Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts," he declared.

"Shut up!" At least this Akane had a short temper, just like the one he knew.

"I am Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts!"

Springing to her feet Akane charged at Ranma.

Expertly blocking the powerful low kick, Ranma gently pushed Akane back. She was good, much better than the Akane he knew, but he was still better. Kicking off the ground he sprang to his feet, daring the startled Akane Tendo to attack again.

"Get out!" Soun hissed.

Ranma bowed his head. Turning around he did as commanded.

X X X X X

A somber wind blew through the Tendo compound at the six Tendos gathered for dinner. It was supposed to be a happy occasion as the eldest daughter, Kasumi, had returned home for the weekend. As a pre-med student at the prestigious Tokyo University she was the first in her family to attend college. Given the long commute and her late classes she'd been forced to live closer to the university, though she did manage to sneak home once or twice a month.

"Did I miss something?" Konatsu Tendo asked.

Nabiki shrugged, "Don't worry about it little brother."

The muscular young man glared at his adopted sibling. The usually secretive Nabiki to address the issue meant that something really had happened, but that the others weren't willing to talk about it. Though he'd spent the past eight years being raised as a Tendo, Konatsu knew that there were some things that his adopted family would keep from him, especially if it involved something from before his inception to the family.

It had been a twist of fate that had brought him to the Tendo Household after all, not a blood or marriage bond that linked everyone else. Having been saved from a family of supposed ninja and from being trained as a kunoichi despite the fact that he was obviously male, Konatsu knew that he owed the Tendos his life as he really couldn't see himself living as a kunoichi. Forget that the world outside the dojo focused on technology and what one could do with a computer over how many bricks one could break or carry. Despite that, Konatsu and Akane had both been raised to honor the arts. Who else was there should an insane martial artist snap and decide to kidnap hapless children?

That was how his adopted father had found him, and how he'd acquired his crippling injury. Yet the man knew the importance of having some martial arts skill, especially if one were to dedicate their life to serving the public and society as both Akane and Konatsu had promised to do.

But to see his family so disturbed, the young aspiring detective/police officer knew that something had happened, but what? Having been ordered to stay in his room as his father, mother, Kasumi, Akane and Nabiki 'talked' with the mysterious young man Konatsu wondered why he'd been excluded from the conversation. He'd heard some shouting, and even seen the young man as he'd left the house. It only made him more curious.

Akane was never good with words, preferring instead to resolve things with her fists and feet. Nabiki was an expert at being secretive and manipulative but for her to refuse to tell him anything even when he'd offered to buy her the blouse she had been trying to blackmail him into buying her was very unusual. That only left Kasumi and his parents, yet the usually sociable trio seemed to be very tightlipped about the entire episode as well.

As any aspiring young detective knew, if your witnesses weren't talking, you had to investigate elsewhere.

Excusing himself from the dinner table he headed up to his room. Living with the Tendos the orphaned young man had something that many of his associates lacked – a room and bed of his own. Though he treasured the space, it was the desire to actually belong and fit in with his adopted family that he wanted most, something he couldn't do with such a secret being kept from him. And as an orphan, he feared that perhaps the visitor had something to do with his own past – perhaps someone who sought to uproot him from his adopted family.

Giving into his fear and curiosity, the young detective began to snoop around. He'd heard a name – Ranma Saotome, and he had a face to put next to it as well. That would have to be enough for now.

Slipping out of his room the athletic young man climbed out onto the roof. Taking a running jump he managed to catch hold of a branch, slowing his descent onto the cold, unforgiving cement just outside of the tall stone wall the separated the Tendo compound from the neighborhood.

Though he was now a Tendo in all but blood, Konatsu knew where he'd come from. Retaining some contacts on the streets with the orphans that he'd either helped or spent time with over the years, he hoped that someone would be able to find some about this mysterious Ranma Saotome.

X X X X X

Everything was wrong. There was no other way to describe it. The him in this world had died ten years ago to the day. Looking back at his life he had to admit that perhaps that one moment was when he'd been the closest to death, though in truth, he really didn't remember much other than being extremely terrified of the training.

And why was Mrs. Tendo alive? True, all he knew was that she'd died while Akane was young, but never really knew exactly when that was, just a rough time. Sure, ten years ago she probably could have passed for Kasumi, but the gray hairs… had something else aged her? What had she died of in his world?

A multitude of thoughts and questions ran through the pigtailed boy's mind, none of them making it easier for him to understand his predicament. No, what he needed were answers, but where to find them?

He'd normally turn to the old ghoul or even the old letch, but it didn't appear that they were here in this world. Forced to rely on his own, lacking, academic skills, Ranma decided to head to the one institution that he knew he could trust.

X X X X X

"Another dead end," Konatsu grumbled as he closed his sliding cell phone.

"Duo didn't have any info for you?" the adopted Tendo's companion asked as she set down a tray of milk for the gathered stray cats.

The raven haired boy shook his head. "The only people who've seen this guy say that he was jumping from root top to roof top."

The lithe girl whistled. "That's impressive. Dude's got to be pretty athletic."

Konatsu nodded. True, he could run along the roof tops and even jump from roof to roof if needed, but he rarely ever needed to do that.

"Aside from that, no one's ever seen the guy."

"So he's from outside of Nerima then?"

"Hey, didn't your distant aunt marry a Saotome?" the young man asked.

The lithe girl paused. Like Konatsu, she'd been adopted into a loving and welcoming family, but that particular aunt had seemed distant to everyone in the last few years. "Yeah," she replied. "You're thinking of looking people up in the phone book or something?"

The aspiring detective shrugged. "Can't hurt," he replied. "Maybe someone in the ward knows him."

"You know Saotome's a fairly common name, right?"

Sighing, Konatsu stood up. "Yeah, it's going to be a long night for me," he conceded. Reaching into the bowl of wrapped candies he quickly unwrapped one before throwing it into his mouth.

"Hey!"

"Thanks Kanako," he smirked. "Your family's candy always helps me feel better. I'll pay you back for it next time."

# # # # #

The feel of the warm sunshine slowly receded as the sun vanished over the western horizon. Even the sight of a lovely sunset had not been able to comfort the young woman.

'_It would have been better if I'd been at home enjoying the sunset,_' the young woman thought as she tried to drown out the rattling of the train. '_Something feels out of place though. I can't just go home and ignore what I'm feeling_.'

Having ridden the train from her high school to her home virtually everyday over the past year or so she'd become accustomed to the now familiar bumps that that train endured daily, but riding a different train to another district of Tokyo she actively felt each foreign bump. In truth it wasn't the bumps that concerned her - it was the strangers she now shared the train with as she headed towards another district far from her home or school. Though she didn't know everyone she rode the train with she'd become accustomed to those faceless and nameless strangers as she subconsciously forced them out of her mind while she conversed with her schoolmates. Though she didn't call any of those girls her friend or equal, she had become accustomed to their presence and they to hers. It also helped that her presence on that route ensured that the girls around her wouldn't get groped by the pervy old men that often prayed on the young, timid girls. But on this train, where she was just another pretty face, her reputation was unheard of. She could practically feel the men undressing her. Like the one over sitting two three spots behind and to the left of her that occasionally peeked out from behind his paper, or the old coot who had a mirror taped to his shoe so that he could look up her skirt.

Feeling a particularly powerful bump she took the opportunity to stomp her foot down on the offending foot, breaking the tiny mirror as she did so.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she lied as she glared at the man.

"It's alright," he replied as he covered the remains of the broken mirror with his feet, slowly sliding them back so that his feet were now under his seat. "It's a bumpy ride; do take care of yourself miss."

Slowly the men around her slide away, giving her more space as they feared the consequences of violating her personal space.

At least she'd stopped them from physically trying to invade her privacy, but she could still feel them mentally undressing her. Still, she only had to endure it for two more stops.

The rest of the ride proved to be much smoother, perhaps because the men had moved onto other targets.

# # # # #

A/N

Yes, the Frozen Flame is from Chrono Cross and the idea is from that game as well. But don't expect things to stick to that game's plot as I honestly don't remember all the events in that story either. Ranma will be the only one who crosses dimensions though.

Yes, the characters in this world are going to be fairly OCish, though hopefully I can maintain some of their basic and most recognizable features and characteristics.

Yes, this is going to be a cross-over fic though I am loathed to do it. Rather than come up with a cast of OC's to help Ranma through his adventure I'm going to try and use suitable characters from other series though not necessarily from the same settings as their source anime/manga.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes –

I hope you all enjoy this fic. Of course I don't own Ranma ½, or anything that Square Enix published/developed, or Love Hina and Negima.

I've never seen '_It's a Wonderful Life_' so I don't know what happens in that Christmas Classic.

I know that some will rant about this, and it might even turn readers off, but I'm declaring this now – I will be referring to Ranma as he regardless of the form he's in. I will refer to him as she/her/etc. when others consider the female Ranma, but when it's from Ranma's perspective I'll be using male pronouns as Ranma thinks of himself as a male.

Oh, and I'm sure you've noticed that the rating for this fic has been bumped up. Yeah, it'll cost me some hits, but I think it's necessary as this will be a bit grittier and darker than my usual fics. Don't expect lemon though.

X X X X X

"She's here?" Tatewaki Kuno asked the captain of the first years of the kendo club.

"There is no doubt that she's here," the nameless captain stated as he bowed his head.

"End practice," the captain of Furinkan High School's kendo club ordered. "It seems that the captain of St. Bacchus School for Girl's kendo club is here to officially challenge me. My sister must have let word of my manliness out among her peers."

"That or she's trying to scout us before our regional match," the vice captain of the first year students mumbled, only to have Kuno ignore him.

"Make haste," the arrogant senior ordered. "I shall prove myself against the Exorcist Aoyama and conquer her tonight!"

The rowdy kendo practitioners let out a loud roar, voicing their approval of their proud captain's proclamation.

X X X X X

The slowly darkening sky overhead seemed to mirror the mood of the residents of Nerima as they rushed indoors. But for Ranma the weather seemed to just be adding to his woes. With all the stores and shops closing down Ranma was forced to remain on the streets as he had nowhere to go. And during typhoon season too.

Spotting the familiar outfit that he always refused to wear inspiration hit the pigtailed boy. Yes, Furinkan High School would be open. It always was given how late some of the sports teams stayed to practice. Well, they stayed open when the school wasn't under repair. Rushing to the one place that he knew would be open the pigtailed young man hoped that he'd be able to find shelter before the rain began.

Besides, he was heading there anyways. Though he hated school, it had at least been the one place he knew of where there were some knowledgeable people. Maybe someone there could help him find out what the hell had happened to him. Well, maybe not. There really wasn't anyone at the high school that he'd been able to rely on, but the library should have something not to mention that it would provide some shelter from the weather.

X X X X X

Konatsu had to admit, he was impressed. In a world with few quality martial artists Kanako was able to keep up with him. True, she was one of the few people in her (adopted) family that was trained in the Urashima Style of Unarmed Martial Arts, and always kept up with him when they sparred, but he'd never really gone all out against her while sparring.

He was actually glad that she'd chased after him after he'd left her family's warehouse as he knew better than to wander around Nerima alone. Even as skilled as he and Akane were they had problems taking care of themselves alone in the dangerous ward, especially after the kendo club got out of their daily practices. Though either of them could hold their own against the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School, alone they could be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the fanatical martial artists.

Hopeful that the gentle vibrating of his cell phone meant that one of his informants and friends had acquired some information Konatsu checked the text message. "Shit!"

"What?" the lithe girl beside him asked even as she kept pace with him.

"Looks like the kendo team is mobilizing for something."

X X X X X

"Shit," Nabiki exclaimed as she looked at the text message on her cell phone.

"What?" Akane asked as she looked up at the middle Tendo daughter.

"Looks like Kuno was behind it," the short haired girl stated. "The Kendo Team is on the move."

The younger Tendo daughter shrugged. "Even he's not fool enough to simply attack us while we're at home – that's against the truce we struck with his family."

Nabiki nodded. "True, but why else would the Kendo Team mobilize?"

Both sisters suddenly locked eyes. "Konatsu!"

# # # # #

The young exorcist couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy as she moved further into Nerima. Aside from the odd feeling that she had which had prompted her to come to this part of Nerima there was another, darker sensation running through her as she navigated through the ward in search of the original source of the disturbance.

As one of the many girls attending St. Bacchus School for Girl's she knew something of Nerima. Though the Captain of the Rhythmic Gymnastics and Martial Arts Club was the sibling to the infamous Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, and had warned the girls of the school to avoid Nerima at all costs, Motoko Aoyama had actually met and crossed blades with the arrogant kendoka. Though their encounter had been relatively brief, she could tell that he lived up to everything that his sister had told everyone in St. Bacchus.

Gripping her sheathed katana, she couldn't help but wonder if Kodachi's tales of her brother organizing Furinkan's Kendo Team into a sort of vigilante group were true. Like other wards and districts Nerima was virtually spotless, but unlike other areas where the residents walked the streets freely there appeared to be no one here. Perhaps the Kuno family truly did rule this area of Nerima with an iron hand.

Yet despite their efforts the swordswoman spotted several distinct markings on several buildings, a fountain, several walls, and the railing on a bridge from what she could tell. The clearly deliberate marks weren't merely scrawled on but had been put on with deliberate care. Not daring to touch the symbols as she felt some odd magic at work, she made sure that she could recognize and replicate the symbol. This was definitely something she'd need to contact her sister about.

"Halt!" a somewhat familiar voice cried out, disturbing her investigation.

Looking up she clutched the hilt of her katana.

"We meet again," the tall kendoka stated as he stood before an army of his class and teammates. Deftly unsheathing his blade he smiled confidently. "I shall personally ensure that you enjoy this encounter much more than our last match."

X X X X X

The familiar sound of steel clashing suddenly caught Ranma's attention. As the heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts he was naturally curious and intrigued by fights. It was no surprise then that he found himself being sidetracked by the prospect of watching a fight (though he usually preferred to be in the middle of the fight – what better way to see a technique or fighter in action than to be the one facing that fighter or technique?).

Clearing the corner he spotted the ring of onlookers, all wearing similar garb. Unable to see past the group Ranma decided to get a better view. Leaping on top of a street sign he scowled as he laid eyes on a familiar figure. It was hard not to recognize the voluminous hair and arrogant air of the kendoka but unlike the Kuno he knew though this Tatewaki Kuno wore black leather pants and a navy blue denim jacket over a tight, light blue shirt.

And then there was the girl. The long haired girl moved very gracefully in her navy blue school uniform. She was probably even on this Kuno's level, though clearly she was disadvantaged by being confined to a very limited and unfriendly arena as the Furinkan students had each drawn their respective katana and pinned her in while giving their captain the room he needed whenever he was pushed back.

Stepping in with a diagonal slash that was blocked, the larger and stronger boy sought to force the girl back. Instead she kicked at his extended arm, disarming him. Bringing her sword back she pressed her blade against his denim jacket as she forced the fabric against his shirt.

"It seems that you have me," Kuno smirked. "I guess our date will be your treat."

"Shut up," the girl growled even as the group of Furinkan fighters quieted down. "I'm not here for you."

Even in the face of apparent defeat Kuno smiled. "Initially perhaps, but now," he took a step forward so that she could feel his body against her blade.

Not wanting to kill her defeated opponent she took a step back. "I'll gut you if I have to," she stated.

"Do you truly have it in you?"

A sudden flick of the wrist was all she needed to cut through his jacket and shirt, hopefully leaving a shallow wound rather than gutting the bastard as she wanted. The sound of steel on steel though told her that her cut hadn't wounded him.

Feeling his strong hand on her wrist he locked eyes with her once again, "Did you think I wouldn't be prepared for our momentous night?"

Her body suddenly convulsed as he slammed the tazer in his left hand against her stomach, sending jolts of electricity through her.

X X X X X

Everything was red. The ominous storm clouds overhead seemed to drown out the white lights from the lamps, giving everything an evil, reddish tint only mirrored than anger that the youngest Tendo felt as she ran through the empty streets of Nerima.

Hearing the familiar buzzing of her cell phone she stopped only long enough to read the message from Nabiki. Looking around she paused before turning around. Backtracking for a block she turned west. Hopefully Nabiki's information was accurate. Though Nabiki had never really gotten along with Konatsu, she still considered him her brother despite the fact that they weren't actually blood relatives. Even she wouldn't want her adopted brother to get beaten up and possibly worse at the hands of Kuno and his self-proclaimed Nerima Guardians.

Though she lacked her adopted brother's strength, Akane was much faster than her brother. Though he had his own network of informants it paled in comparison to Nabiki's network. Spotting her idiot brother and his companion Akane shook her head. Of course he'd be with her.

"Konatsu!" she cried out, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Not even bothering to look around he waved at her offhandedly. "Hey sis."

Straining herself to catch up to him she mentally vowed to kick his ass once they got home.

"Kanako," she greeted as she caught up to the pair. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

"The 'Guardians' are up to something," Konatsu stated. "They've mobilized for some reason."

"We think it has something to do with that Ranma Saotome guy," the lithe Urashima explained as she ran on the other side of Konatsu.

"Kuno's probably using the guy to get to dad," the raven haired boy concluded.

Even though she was running Akane trembled in fury. "If he is behind this I'm going to kick his ass, truce or not," she stated.

X X X X X

Grabbing his opponent's blade Kuno grinned maliciously as he lowered the stunned girl down to the ground. Using her own katana he skillfully cut off the buttons to her top before using the tip to reveal her bound bosom. Smirking he sliced the bindings even as the assembled Nerima Guardians shouted and cheered him on.

A lecherous grin formed on the victorious boy's face as he knelt down. Setting aside the katana even as he returned his tazer to its holster he grabbed the prone girl's slender yet strong legs. Sliding his calloused fingers up her smooth, silky legs and under the hem of her knee length skirt he reached up and pulled off her panties. Enjoying every single moment as he slide her panties off he failed to notice the disturbance; attributing the noise as his subordinates merely fighting amongst themselves for a better view of the real action.

It wasn't until he'd finally freed the silky treasure from the defeated girl's ankles that he realized something was wrong. Somehow he pushed himself off his knees and onto his feet as he avoided a kick to the head, not from the girl, but from someone else.

Kuno scowled furiously at the pigtailed boy standing before him. Whoever he was he was fast. He'd clearly gotten through several members of the Nerima Guardians, kicked at him, and picked up the unconscious girl, robbing him of his spoils.

For his part Ranma couldn't help but wonder why the hell he'd let his Kuno get away with what he'd done in his world. Seeing this cheating bastard cheating to defeat the mysterious girl and act as though it were his god-given right to do with her as he wanted made Ranma think about what would have happened if the Kuno he knew had actually fought his Akane and gone all out. Yes, Kuno was much better than Akane, but despite his bravado he always held back and allowed Akane to win. Though he forced himself on her by his constant proclamations of his undying and unwavering love for her he never physically forced himself onto her and at least allowed her a way out. Though it was sick and twisted, that Kuno at least was honorable with Akane, which was a lot considering that this Kuno not only cheated, but he seriously wanted to do unmentionable things to the now unconscious girl.

Having witnessed how dirty the Furinkan Kendo Team members were Ranma knew that he couldn't protect the girl and himself without trying to even the odds a bit. Stepping on the end of the hilt he flipped the sword up and caught it in his free hand.

"I've never seen you before stranger," Kuno stated. "But for interfering with my conquest you'll die a dishonorable death. No one will mourn your passing."

"That's alright," Ranma stated grimly. "I've already died."

Even with the girl over his shoulder Ranma nimbly parried the twin attacks from the two kendo flunkies that tried to jump him. Blocking a third attacker he swiftly disarmed the kid before kicking the kendoka into his companions. Grabbing the free blade skillfully he used it to parry a stab from his blindside.

Parrying another pair of slashes Ranma kicked an attacker in the face, knocking loose several teeth and bloodying the boy. A mule kick to another attacker behind him shattered the kid's knee but not knocking him down, giving Kuno the opening he needed to rush in. Blocking and overhead strike Ranma kicked out, hitting Kuno's left hand even as the cheating kendoka tried to follow through with a shot from the tazer. Stepping into his opponent's guard Ranma quickly slashed down.

Blood flew as the borrowed blade cut the arrogant kendoka.

"My face!" Kuno dropped his tazer as he stumbled back, clutching at his injured eye and cheek. "God Damn You!"

The other Nerima Guardians froze. Though few of them were good enough to land a blow on their esteemed captain, they all knew that anyone who managed to land a single blow on him often paid for it in the end as the Blue Thunder would relentlessly hound that individual until he finally won and broke his opponent. Had they understood the gravity of the wound they wouldn't have paused.

"Get him," one of the captains hissed.

Not even bothering to nod, several senior members of the Nerima Guardians dropped their swords as they reached into their pockets. The stun guns nearly caught Ranma off guard, though the first volley of missed shots did hit other members of the Nerima Guardians, prompting them to fall to the ground as they convulsed even as Ranma jumped into the air. Throwing the captured katana he forced the panicked kendoka to scatter or duck in the face of a flying blade. Taking advantage of the opening Ranma slashed at a pair of fighters on his right, cutting one's hand off at the wrist and cutting the meaty thigh of the other. Both fell over, clutching at their wounds even as their blood stained the concrete below.

The feel of electricity coursing through the unconscious girl told him that someone had managed to tag her instead of him. Spinning around, he nimbly slashed and cut the wire even as he landed a powerful kick to the chest sent another attacker flying.

Another running leap propelled him over another volley from the stun guns and clear of the Nerima Guardians. Taking to the rooftops he hoped that they wouldn't be able to follow him. Landing on the third roof he glanced back. With no sign of any further pursuit he let out a sigh of relief.

This world was seriously fucked up.

X X X X X

"That's him," Akane growled as she spotted a figure in the distance.

'_Damn, he's good,'_ Konatsu thought as he noted that this Ranma Saotome guy wasn't just running and jumping from roof to roof but was actually jumping from building to building. The only person that he knew who was that good was Grandfather Happosai.

"He's not alone," Kanako stated as she leapt on top of a bench then onto a roof. Catching a long length of binding she eyed it.

Following the lithe martial artist's lead Konatsu leapt onto a bench, then onto a garbage dumpster before making it onto a roof. Akane followed suit.

"Damn," the muscular girl exclaimed as she came to a stop, "he's fast."

"You two should get back home," Kanako suggested as she stashed the binding away. "It looks like it's going to rain."

"What about you?" Konatsu asked.

"I've got to catch the train home anyways," she replied.

"We'll go with you to the station," Akane said as she caught her breath, "then we'll go straight home after that."

X X X X X

Things were different in this world, that much Ranma was sure of. Still, he wasn't sure what to make of this world as he still had a hard time trying to wrap his brain around the idea that the Ranma Saotome of this world had died ten years ago.

Though he'd heard of 'Love Hotels' before, he was pretty sure that his Nerima didn't have this many of those businesses. Still, it offered shelter. Expecting to have to try and explain why a petit yet busty redheaded girl was carrying a half naked and very unconscious girl, Ranma hoped that these places were as discrete as he'd heard they were. What he didn't expect was that there was no one at the front. Hell, there wasn't even a front desk; just a wall full of screens that depicted the styles of the rooms and which ones were available.

Setting her down, Ranma rummaged through the small bag of personal affects that she had brought with her. Finding a credit card Ranma charged the cheapest room to the unconscious girl. Hopefully she wouldn't mind it.

Fortunately they didn't run into anyone on the way up to the secluded little room.

Locking the door behind him, Ranma scanned the room. The heart-shaped bed was large enough for both of them to sleep on without them actually bumping into each other, but Ranma already knew that he'd be sleeping on the floor. He would probably have to check to see if there was food when she woke up, but he could put that off for now.

Setting her down on the bed so that she was sitting up, he examined her back. She definitely was in shape, and she'd clearly been able to hold her own with Kuno. Pulling out the head of the stun gun he sighed. He'd seen one before, but never actually had one actually fired at him much less the dozen or so that he'd dealt with in the last hour or so. And the tazer… to think that Kuno would resort to that kind of trickery.

Feeling a slight headache coming on Ranma slowly stripped the tattered remains of the girl's uniform off of her before he tucked her in. Turning on the water to the shower he stripped down. Grabbing their clothes he threw them into the small washing machine.

X X X X X

Though she was loathed to admit it, Kanako was glad to have the company as the trio of martial artists made their way to the train station, one of the few places where the Nerima Guardians didn't patrol. Hopping on the train she made the quick trip home.

For his part Konatsu was glad to have accompanied his long time friend, making sure that she got home safely as well as for the diversion and delaying of the ass-kicking he was going to receive from Akane. Still, she did seem to have calmed down as they ran home in silence.

What he didn't expect though was the reception that he received when he got home. Seeing his adopted family waiting for him in the front room he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps getting his ass handed to him by Akane wasn't the better option.

Kasumi silently handed him and Akane each a towel, allowing them to dry off as they were ushered to sit down.

"You've been part of this family for nearly nine years now," Soun stated as his hard eyes locked onto his son. "There are many things that we've kept from you. No, there are many things that I've kept from all of you."

"There are things that we both aren't proud of, Soun my boy," the wizened voice of Grandfather Happosai interjected.

"Master," the Tendo patriarch said with a revenant bow.

"Grandfather Happosai," the three Tendo daughters said in unison.

"If I had been a better teacher," the shriveled form sighed as he walked into the front room. "I failed you and Genma as a teacher. I created that monster that you called your best friend by pitting the two of you against each other and not teaching you both everything that I knew."

"It was Genma who did what he did to his son," Mrs. Tendo said as she massaged her husband's tense shoulders.

"Yes, it was Genma's fault that he did what he did," Happosai signed. "But because of his actions Japan has lost a part of its history and tradition. If he hadn't tried to kidnap the children of other martial arts masters in an attempt to replace his lost son…"

Soun sighed, massaging his injured leg as he recalled those dark times.

"Genma's escaped," Happosai stated.

An odd tension filled the entire room.

"When?" Natsume Tendo asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"One, maybe two days," the old master answered.

His cane shook as he griped it, rattled as it came into contact with his chair. "How?"

"I was at the hospital for my annual check-up when he broke out – he must have been planning it for a while and was waiting for the right opportunity."

"So that boy...?"

"He must have been one of the children we didn't save."

"What about Nodoka?" Natsume asked. Though she had never been too close to the eccentric woman that had married Genma Saotome, Nastsume knew that she didn't deserve this.

"I've contacted the Urashima's and the Shinmeiryu," Happosai stated. "I hope that that's enough."

A/N

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes –

No, I do not own the rights to Ranma 1/2, Negima, Love Hina, Chrono Cross, or Full Metal Panic.

# # # # #

"Thank you for accompanying me Naru," the slender swordswoman said as she exited the train.

The auburn haired girl simply smiled as she turned to face her younger companion. "Don't mention it Motoko," she replied. "I'm just glad to have an excuse to take a break from studying so hard."

Motoko nodded. Though she'd felt the odd energies emanating from Nerima, she hadn't found anything other than a few painted markers.

"To be honest, I was hoping to see some of those crazy fights that Nerima is famous for," Naru sighed.

Motoko smiled. As a high level martial artists herself, she knew that Nerima was home to many eccentric yet powerful martial arts styles and schools. She'd actually hoped to witness one of those fights herself, though she'd once seen a rather interesting match between her school's Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics captain and a challenger from Furinkan High, which happened to be in Nerima.

Even though she hadn't seen a fight during her trip to Nerima she had spotted the apparent source of the unexplained energy. Though she could not remove the object that it was painted on, she had managed to remember the strange symbol.

"And the food there… I can't believe how good the okonomiyaki was!" Naru exclaimed. "I hope Shinobu doesn't mind that we brought some back for everyone."

"I'm sure she won't, though she'll probably be mad that we didn't call ahead and let her know that we weren't going to be home for dinner," Motoko stated.

"It is pretty late," the older girl agreed. "Hopefully that loser is done cleaning the hot springs by now. I think a good soak before bed would be nice."

X X X X X

There was just so much that Ranma couldn't get his mind around. Not only had the Ranma Saotome of this world died ten years ago, but his father, Genma Saotome had snapped. Though he'd always known that the old man was a thief of ill repute the pigtailed martial artist found it hard to believe that his old man would stoop to kidnapping other people's kids in an attempt to replace him. What was worse was that other martial artists had to step in and stop him, driving him out of Japan even as the world seemed to look down on martial artists.

He'd thought that the Kuno of this world was much worse than the one he knew, and that it was the lowest that things could get, but it didn't. With public sentiment turned against martial artists Japan had focused on developing technology, which only fueled and fed the desire for the rest of the world to keep pace with the technologically advanced Japan.

But Genma wasn't done. Having fled Japan he'd become a hired assassin and thief, even taking part in the assassination of the Russian Prime Minister, which lead to the Russians once again uniting the Soviet Union and eventually re-invading Afghanistan. The resulting Middle Eastern wars and the renewed Cold War also sparked a revolt in China, where a faction led by the Musk Tribe and other martial arts groups.

In the end though Genma had been captured and imprisoned, though no one knew where. Still, the damage had been done. Nations were in disarray, some still in the midst of civil war and ethnic cleansing, and others the victim of nuclear bombs.

He knew it was unmanly and weak, but he couldn't help it. Ranma knelt before the garbage can, thankful that he hadn't eaten a thing since coming to this foreign world as he dry heaved into the now half full container. Never in his life had he wished that he could return to the Tendos, his Tendos, like he did now.

This world was just wrong. There was no other way to put it.

X X X X X

The cold rain poured, pounding the pavement and the aluminum roof of the apparently abandoned warehouse. Apparently because despite the decrepit appearance of the warehouse there were several heavily armed and highly trained guards, not to mention the latest surveillance technology. Yet despite all that Andrei Sergeivich Kalinin knew that his seller would somehow sneak past everything to meet with him.

"You're sure that he'll be here?" the woman of Chinese descent beside him asked.

"He'll be here," the gruff Russian stated.

"Are we going to re-capture him?" the woman asked.

"We're woefully undermanned for such an operation," Kalinin stated.

"I guess you're right," the woman replied, "breaking out of Hades is unheard of. Why didn't we just execute him?"

"Because I'm the best," the rough voice hissed from the shadows.

"Technically you're the second best," the Russian stated. "Your old master is still the best."

The man in the shadows scoffed. "He's gotten old and lost his edge; I'm in the prime of my life still unlike him," he replied. "But we're not here to discuss that are we?"

The woman eyed the darkness, only to feel a firm hand clasp over her mouth and another grope her perky breast.

"She's not part of the agreement," the grizzled war veteran stated as he turned to face his companion and the powerful martial artist.

"Unfortunately she's not," the other man replied as he released her and vanished into the shadows once again. "Had I known that Mithril had such beauties I might have asked for one as compensation – it has been a while since I've enjoyed a spirited woman's company."

"Bastard," the woman grumbled as she stood up and eyed the man.

"I've brought the miniature AS, though it's no longer functional," the man stated.

"Here are the items you requested," Kalinin said as he set the briefcase down and slid it over to the other man. "You're not thinking of looking up your wife, are you? As skilled as you are, I doubt that even you could sneak past those highly skilled martial artists."

Genma smirked. "I snuck into here, right?" he asked as he vanished into the darkness.

Pulling out a flashlight Mao illuminated the darkness, revealing that no one remained in the corner.

"That's the man that assassinated a Russian Prime Minister," the graying soldier stated. "While we may want him dead, too many world leaders would perhaps assume that they were safe from assassination."

"So we're keeping him around as a threat to any would be dictators?" the woman exclaimed.

"In a manner of speaking; yes."

X X X X X

The long drive home had proven to be both a blessing and a curse for Motoko. Though it provided her with chance to rest, she knew that she really could not afford to relax. Even though she knew the history of this world and the many recent conflicts, the young swordswoman could tell that this boy, this Ranma Saotome, clearly had never heard it before. He truly appeared to be of another world or dimension – that or he was an exceptional actor.

Yet it was her own predicament that she worried about. Suffering defeat at the hands of the dishonorable Tatewaki Kuno and nearly being raped by him was humbling. She knew that she clearly was the better swordsman, but he was clearly the better fighter as his underhanded tricks and his hidden armor had given him the victory and to him, the right to claim her as his prize. Her borrowed clothes were testament to her defeat, reminding her of the dirty things that Ranma had appeared to have saved her from.

The thought nearly made her want to vomit just as Ranma had done before they'd left for her home. Having her sister and the three guardsmen accompanying her up the long flight of stairs to the Hinata Sou the young swordswoman realized that something was amiss. Though she couldn't see them, she could sense the two dozen or so hidden guardsmen and swordsmen around the grounds.

Ranma noticed too, though he didn't realize the significance of their presence.

"So," he said, the first words he's spoken since losing his lunch, "how did you find us anyways?"

The older Aoyama smiled wickedly. "That credit card is for emergencies only," Tsuruko explained. "But when I saw that it was used to book a room at a Love Hotel I knew something was up. Unfortunately the priestess on duty could not accompany us to Nerima."

Motoko blushed, and beside her the startled Ranma fought the urge to bolt. A part of him told him that had this happened in his world he probably would have been forced to marry the younger swordswoman. That same part of him also told him that Motoko was fairly attractive – not as curvy as his female form, but much softer in all the right places than Akane despite lacking the measurements of the tom-boy.

As much as Tsuruko wanted to tease her sibling, she knew that there were other pressing matters to deal with. "So, why were you in Nerima?"

Steeling her resolve, the younger Aoyama knew that she needed to explain her clearly irrational actions. "I felt a disturbance," she explained. "I know I should not have rushed in and should have waited for assistance, but when I called no one was available. Taking the imitative I decided that I would go and investigate."

The elegant swordswoman nodded. "You should have realized when you failed to contact anyone that there was an emergency," the elder sibling chided.

Motoko blinked, she hadn't considered that. "I'm – I'm sorry," she replied as she bowed her head in shame. No wonder she wasn't the leader of the clan, she'd allowed herself to act irrationally without thinking things through. "I should have realized that there was an emergency."

"So what was the emergency?" Ranma interrupted as they reached the top of the stairs.

The elder swordswoman's mood darkened. "You recall how I told you that Genma Saotome had been captured and imprisoned?"

Motoko suddenly went cold. "He's escaped."

Tsuruko nodded solemnly. "We just received word that he broke out of Hades."

"Hades?" Ranma asked. "Like in Greece?"

"Hades is supposed to be a super secret prison that houses some of the world's most notorious war criminals, thieves, and other undesirables," Tsuruko explained. "No one knows what country the prison is in though they suspect that it might be in on the bottom of the ocean. It was supposed to be impossible to break out of, yet Genma Saotome managed to do it."

Ranma nodded. "In my world the old man and I swam from Japan to China and then back during our training trip," the naïve martial artist offered. "If the Genma of this world is even half the martial artist that my old man is than he'd be able to break out of any prison and swim from the bottom of the ocean if need be."

Though both women were skeptical of the boy's proclamation, they both held their respective tongues.

"Motoko, you're home," someone shouted from the second floor balcony that overlooked the main entrance. "I see you've found Motoko, but who is that accompanying you Tsuruko?"

"I'll explain later," the elder swordswoman said, brushing off the young man's query. "I assume that everyone is inside?"

The young man nodded.

Ranma simply followed the two women as the group ushered him into the building. As a master martial artist it was clear to him that the room was filled with high level martial artists. Of the nearly dozen fighters it was clear to Ranma that most of them were somehow associated with the Shinmeiryu, and thus to Motoko and Tsuruko, but the rest appeared to be masters of other disciplines.

"Is that the young man who appeared at the Tendo dojo?" a distinctly familiar voice asked, not giving Ranma the time to actually get a good look at those around him.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I'm Ranma Saotome."

Though no one gasped in shock it was clear that that name, his name, had very negative connotations as he could feel every set of eyes on him, appraising him.

"What's up old man?" he asked casually. Having never shown his Happosai any respect he wondered why everyone here was showing this shriveled old man any respect. "I'm not used to seeing you without something on your face or without you burying your face in some girl's breasts."

Several hands quickly reached for their weapons, only to be waved off by the tiny martial arts master.

"Clearly you've heard of me, though not many people recall my rather sordid past," the old master sighed.

Though most people thought that Ranma was just a muscle head, he clearly had more between his ears than what anyone gave him credit for. The verbal tit-for-tat hopefully would shed some light on the situation that he'd walked in on.

"So, how'd you get out of the sealed cave that the old man and Mr. Tendo threw you in?" the pigtailed boy asked.

Several fighters looked at each other, clearly not sure what they were hearing.

"Soun broke me out once he discovered that Genma was the one behind the kidnappings nearly ten years ago," Happosai stated as he locked eyes with Ranma. "Tell me Tsuruko, why did you bring this imposter here?"

"The boy claims to be from another dimension," she stated boldly. "In his world he survived the Neko-ken training."

"Impossible!" one of the masters shouted.

"He lies! No one could survive that farce!" another added.

Happosai silenced the crowd with a simple wave of his hand.

"The boy even says that he was cursed in his world," the swordswoman added.

"Jusenkyo," Ranma said coolly. "You know, where the Amazons and Cologne lived."

Happosai's eyes narrowed as he considered the boy before him. None of the assembled masters had even heard of the Amazons or of the mystic valley they lived in. "Once when you were young you passed through that valley. You even tried to woe a young Amazon named Cologne. She turned you down so you stole many of the Amazon's treasures."

"You dare to sully Master Happosai's name!" an angry master shouted in protest.

Again Happosai silenced them. "Even Genma never knew of my travels from my youth; tell me, how did you know about that?"

"In my world Genma took me on a training journey, just as he did in this one. But as Tsuruko said, I survived the Ne-ne… that training. Afterwards we traveled throughout Japan where I learned and fought against many different masters. Once Genma had decided that I had learned all I could from the Japanese masters we went to Korea, repeating the process until once again the old man though I had learned all I could. Then we went to China, where I picked up my curse. I also inadvertently was given the kiss of death-"

"Which the Amazons only give to women outsiders who defeat them," Happosai said, cutting him off.

Ranma glanced at Motoko. The slender swordswoman grabbed a cup of water and handed it to him.

"Like I said, I picked up my curse in Jusenkyo," he said as he poured the water over his head. His sudden transformation from muscular young man with raven black hair to a slightly shorter, busty redheaded girl clearly startled them more than his proclamation that he was who he claimed to be. "At the time I was in this form when I defeated the Amazon's junior champion – something I had to do because my idiot father had become cursed himself, transforming into a panda when he got splashed with cold water. Of course the fact that he had eaten the champion's prize didn't help, and so he forced me to fight the junior champion. Of course I won and as a result Shampoo gave me the kiss of death. When she found out I was really a guy she gave me the kiss of marriage.

"So, when'd you give up chasing the skirts?" Ranma asked, changing topics in hopes of keeping them from completely absorbing all that he'd said. "Or should I say the bras and panties?"

Ripping open his shirt he exposed his breasts, prompting the runty master to spring to his feet, only to trip over his own feet.

"You almost got me," Happosai stated as he pushed himself back to his feet.

"I once used your lust for this form against you," Ranma smirked as he grabbed a cup of tea and poured it over his head.

Happosai grinned, "I should thank my ungrateful students – sealing me away helped me over come my addiction to those silky treasures. Soun freeing me and telling me about Genma's actions was enough incentive for me to stop my old ways.

"I can't help but think that my failure as a teacher and master was the reason why you died in this world and why Genma finally snapped."

"Y-you actually believe him?" one of the masters asked.

Happosai nodded. "It's possible that Genma knew more about me than I gave him credit for."

This seemed to please the others.

"So much so that he told some kid that he kidnapped about your travels when you were younger?" Ranma retorted. "Like how you once used the pressure points to alter a little girl's chi so that she could essentially drain the chi out of fighters and turn into an adult? Or how you once helped deliver a child in the wilds of China prior to taking Genma and Soun as students? Or how you bathed the child in the Spring of Drowned Yeti riding an ox while carrying a crane and eel and named that child Pantyhose?"

"So he turns into a yeti riding an ox and carries around a crane and eel?" one of the other masters asked.

Ranma shook his head, "He turns into a yeti with wings of a crane and the head of an ox and can send electrical energy through his body. But that was before he jumped into the spring of drowned octopus."

"An octopus drowned?" a second man asked.

"Fresh water," the swordswoman next to the second man mumbled.

"Ah!" the man replied. "So he turns in to an octopus."

Ranma shook his head, "He got eight extra octopus arms and shoots ink from them besides having his already monstrous strength."

Once again the ancient master silenced everyone. Turning to a pair of young martial artists he signed. "Keitaro, Kanako, if you would bring your aunt down here."

All eyes were on him, clearly expecting him to react to the announcement.

It wasn't until he saw the aged woman that accompanied the two young martial artists that Ranma reacted. "Mom?"

The woman trembled, not sure what to make of the young man who claimed to be her son.

"Mom?" he repeated, noting that her eyes were all white and that her forehead and cheeks were scarred. "W-what happened?"

"You did that to her," Happosai stated. "The Neko-ken worked – the Ranma Saotome of this world did that to her, before Genma chased him off. Ranma Saotome didn't die because of the training was too strenuous for him, he died because Genma Saotome hunted down his broken son and killed him."

A wave of nausea suddenly claimed Ranma. Before he or anyone realized it he was kneeling beside the trash can, vomiting once again.

# # # # #

The long day was finally over. Though she had not been able to contact her sister about the strange markings that she'd found in Nerima, Motoko knew that there was just something about the clearly magical symbols. Using her brush she painted the symbol on to a piece of paper before setting it on her desk.

Yawning, the young swordswoman slowly undressed, removing first her gi then her bindings before slipping into bed. Though it was late she knew that Su would slip in whenever the inventive young girl was done with her machines or got tired enough to finally go to bed.

X X X X X

The unusual patterns on the sheet before him meant nothing to the old master martial artist. It did confirm what he knew though – this young man really was from another dimension. But did it have anything to do with Genma's recent escape from Hades?

Sighing, he looked up at the trio of beauties before him. There was a time when he'd have run around and groped the three beauties, possibly even stealing their silky treasures from them only to prompt them to chase him around. Maybe he could steal those treasures once they fell asleep. He always could blame it on Ranma…

"Master Happosai," the beautiful young swordswoman said, breaking him away from his thoughts, "do you believe that he really is Ranma Saotome?"

The old man nodded. "The blood tests confirm that he really is related to Nodoka and to Genma. Once they exhume the body I'm sure that they'll confirm that he really is from another world."

The slender martial artist nodded.

"Sir," the lithe girl on the other side of the old master said, "what should I tell the Tendos?"

Happosai scowled. He really was in a difficult position. Though the adopted Urashima's friendship to the adopted Tendo was useful, it was proving to be a double edged sword. "I'll have to speak with Soun myself. Tell him that I'll be by tomorrow to talk with him."

"What do I tell the other masters?" the busty swordswoman asked.

"We'll need to have at least three members of each dojo assigned to guard the Hinata Sou," the old man stated. "This is perhaps the largest bastion for martial artists in all of Tokyo – I'm sure that it won't take Genma long to figure that out -if he is looking to find Nodoka than he'll definitely come here."

The busty kendoka nodded.

"Oh, and Ryoko my dear, could you spread the word to the masters who aren't here that I wish to meet with them?"

Again the busty girl nodded.

"Master," Motoko said as she recalled what she'd found in Nerima, "I came across a strange symbol while I was in Nerima. I believe that it is magical in nature."

"There are many magical symbols Motoko my dear; what did this one look like?" the shriveled old man asked.

Sliding the door to her room open the slender kendoka grabbed a brush, paper and ink even as her companions followed her into the room. Closing her eyes she focused on the marking before replicating it on the paper.

Suddenly the paper ignited, leaving the table with a scorch mark that resembled the symbol she'd just drawn.

"Yes, definitely magic," Happosai stated, his ancient eyes narrowing as he eyed the table.

"Hey," Ranma called out as he turned the corner. Though he was accompanied by three guardsmen the carefree martial artist clearly wasn't bothered by the fact that he was under constant supervision. "Look here old man, I realize that I sometimes turn into a girl, but having your goons wash me down with cold water is just plan mean. If it wasn't for the fact that there's a hot springs here I'd have kicked everyone's ass!"

The three guardsmen snickered.

"And don't think that I didn't know you pervs were taking pictures of me when I was a girl!" he added.

Happosai smirked. Though he no longer needed to feed his lustful urges, he still liked to appreciate the female form.

"Hey, why's it smell like smoke in here?" the pigtailed boy asked as he entered Motoko's room.

Suddenly the dark symbol glowed with an inner light, catching everyone's attention.

"Get away from that," Happosai snapped.

Too late as the curious youth took a step towards the table, his image slowly vanishing as though he were nothing more than a ghost.

# # # # #

Ranma covered his eyes, shielding them from the intense light. "Does anyone else think that that thing is kinda bright?"

Taking a step back he stepped on something. Had one of the guards gotten closer to him than he'd realized?

With catlike grace he spun around as he fell, catching himself even as he landed on something soft and warm.

Blinking, he realized he was on top of the slender swordswoman.

"Sorry Motoko," he mumbled. "I didn't realize that you were that close to me."

With his face less than a centimeter from hers he noted how pretty she really was, somehow completely failing to note that Motoko was dressed in her pajamas and that she was reaching for her sword.

"Pervert!"

A/N

I think I'll leave things here for now. I hope you all enjoy this fic. I know I am.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes –

I do not own Ranma ½, Love Hina, Negima, Full Metal Alchemist, or Real Bout. Nor do I own the characters from those series.

There are two dimensions, both of which contain the full casts of the above mentioned series, though characters from both series will not appear in both dimensions. Seriously, if Russia fails to reinvade Afghanistan there's no reason for him to be in Ranma's dimension, and of course the cast of Negima and Love Hina won't all be present in the other dimension.

Oh, and if you haven't noticed, the residents of the Hinata Sou in the other dimension are all fighters/martial artists or mystics, so don't expect to see Naru, Shinobu, or Kitsune in that dimension.

Yes, this fic is going to be confusing, but think how confusing it is to Ranma as he jumps between the dimensions.

Yes, the symbols act as a gateway for Ranma, but there's a specific condition for them which will soon be revealed.

In the dimension where Ranma died he didn't have that kindly old neighbor lady to help him revert, so he ran. He outran Genma and seriously injured a lot of people before Genma caught up with him and put him down. Yes, the Neko-ken is seriously messed up in that world.

Basically, Ranma's home dimension is the more comedic world and the other one is darker and more serious. Expect some of the people in each world to react more appropriate for their respective worlds.

X X X X X

The sound of gentle waves greeted the naked young woman as she stepped out of the ocean and onto the sandy, moonlit beach.

"It's almost time," she stated as she turned to face the pigtailed boy standing on the beach.

# # # # #

Years of intense training were paying off as Ranma nimbly avoided the lethal katana and the clearly irate girl wielding it. As a master of the Saotome School of Martial Arts the pigtailed boy was used to dodging attacks, and after half a year of fighting with his various rivals in Nerima he was even used to fighting against multiple opponents at once. Dodging this enraged girl's attacks was almost child's play – almost.

"Um," he said as he narrowly avoided the pressurized air from a vicious vertical slash, "you might want to cover yourself up."

His suggestion went unheeded, though it did seem to enrage the girl all the more.

"Um, Motoko," he said as he ducked under a horizontal slash, "would you please hear me out?"

Though part of him knew that he was dealing with Motoko Aoyama, that same part of him told him that it wasn't the Motoko Aoyama that he had encountered and rescued – not this Motoko was clearly different. This girl appeared to have a hair trigger temper unlike the other one. The other one had been fully dressed and accompanied by two other young women, Happosai, and three guardsmen – and she hadn't thrown a fit when she had been naked around him. Clearly the other Motoko was better in Ranma's book, though this Motoko was definitely the better swordswoman.

"You know you're wrecking the place, right?" he asked as he jumped over the table and out of attack range.

"Just shut up and take it like a man!"

"And you don't even wonder why I know your name, right?"

"You're a pervert," she retorted, "and probably a stalker too!"

Lunging over the table the swordswoman clearly did not expect anyone to actually avoid her attacks for this long.

Not wanting to the girl to destroy the place, Ranma swatted aside the blade before grabbing hold of the slender girl's wrists. A twist of his wrist forced her to drop her blade even as he wrapped his arm around her wrists. Nimbly sweeping her off of her feet so that she couldn't attack him, he held her up. The realization that his face was once again very close to hers was painfully obvious to both fighters.

"Would you please listen to me?" he pleaded.

"Motoko, what's going on?" someone shouted.

Ranma had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"PEVERT!" the new girl shouted when she saw Ranma holding onto a disarmed and clearly frustrated Motoko.

Ranma instinctively dodged the auburn haired girl's punch, though his proximity to Motoko made it impossible for him to dodge the kendoka's head-butt. Reflexively he released the kendoka as he backpedaled, putting her between him and the auburn haired girl.

# # # # #

He was tired. But despite that tiredness the gaunt boy couldn't sleep. Had something gone wrong? He was sure that he'd performed the spell perfectly, right?

Rolling out of his futon he sighed as he turned to look at the glowing magical artifact. Something was wrong, but what? He'd made the symbols perfectly, but had the markers he'd used to key the symbols to the cursed Saotome affected the spell? Perhaps that had weakened the effect of the spell.

Reaching for the scroll that contained all he knew about the Frozen Flame he read and reread the entire thing, fearing that perhaps he hadn't considered something that might throw off the effectiveness of his spell.

X X X X X

"What was that parchment made of?" Happosai asked as he examined the table and the scorch mark from the parchment.

Motoko blinked even as she tried to recall if there was anything special about the paper or the desk. "I don't know actually," she replied. "Tsuruko gave me both the parchment and the table though."

"Ryoko, get Tsuruko."

X X X X X

The gentle buzzing of a cell phone woke the slumbering young man. Years of training had made him a light sleeper to the point where even the sound of his cell phone vibrating was enough to wake him. Completely awake, the scarred boy reached out, grabbing hold of the only source of light in the entire dark apartment.

Reading the text message he nodded. Ever since he'd become only a part-time SRT the young man knew that his resources and income were limited. But the sale of so many units would go a long ways. Though he had only created five hundred units the sale of even fifty would help.

Setting the phone down he waited for the light from the machine to shut off before he closed his eyes.

Yes, today would be a good day.

# # # # #

As the newly installed manager of the all girl's dormitory, Keitaro Urashima had seen a lot in the short time he was at the Hinata Sou. Aside from all the flesh he'd seen (and there was plenty of succulent flesh on those nubile tenants) he'd also seen a lot of stars up close – both the ones you see in the sky at night and the ones you see when you get hit too hard, though in his case the two seemed to be intimately related. Between Motoko's powerful ki/chi attacks, Naru's vicious fists of fury, and Su's experiments he'd been sent into low earth orbit more times that he'd cared to remember as the girls sought to force out the images that had become engrained into his mind and memory.

And of course there was the fact that Motoko and Naru were both going out of their way to make his job all the harder. True, they'd been gone most of the night, but now that they were back they were clearly making up for lost time. The sound of breaking timbers and furniture told him that it wasn't good for the Hinata Sou, and probably wasn't going to be good for the overall cost of maintaining the old building.

Suddenly things quieted down, making Keitaro think that perhaps something had happened. Grabbing the mop handle as though it were a bat, he rushed towards Motoko's room, hopeful that Su hadn't blasted the two older girls away with some insane invention.

His haste was rewarded with the sight of the two girls pinned down by an unknown assailant – Motoko on the floor with the pigtailed boy pinning her arm behind her back while he did the same to Naru with his foot while pushing her against the wall.

"He's a stalker!" Motoko shouted.

"Pervert!" a flustered Naru added.

"Would you shut up?" the pigtailed boy objected. "Just listen to me!"

"Kitsune; call the police!" the auburn haired girl ordered.

"He slipped into my room while I was sleeping and tried to molest me!"

Deciding that it was much easier to deal with two unconscious girls, Ranma nimbly released Motoko's arms before hitting her pressure points, knocking her out as a result. With his hands free he quickly and promptly shut the auburn haired girl up as well before slowly lowering her to the floor.

The gray haired minx slowly back tracked, running behind the hapless manager. If Naru and Motoko had failed to take this guy down then she knew she had no chance in hell. She wasn't a fighter; she was a writer and drinker.

"You," the pigtailed boy said as he turned to face Keitaro, "you're Keitaro Urashima. Your aunt is Nodoka Saotome, my mother."

The young ronin blinked. He did have several cousins, and one eccentric aunt, but to be honest he'd never actually met his cousin. "That doesn't give you the right to molest my tenants," he finally said as he stood his ground.

"Sorry about that," the younger boy said as he scratched his head. "It's a long story," he added. "I'm Ranma Saotome."

X X X X X

The long night seemed to be getting longer as Motoko looked down at the table that her sister had given her. The once pristine and finely maintained wooden surface was now blemished by a scorched in mark of apparently magical origin. Though she had some emotional attachment to the table she wondered if it was safe for her to have the item in her room. Unfortunately though no one had even dared to touch it much less move it.

"Aside from the fact that it is now marked with that symbol there is nothing remarkable about the desk itself," Tsuruko stated. "The parchment on the other hand was made from wood from the World Tree in Mahora."

The ancient martial arts master scowled. "That explains it," he grumbled. "Send a message to Konoemon Konoe; tell him to send one of his people here."

# # # # #

Ranma was tired. Disoriented and slightly confused, he really didn't see why he was the one that had to help his runty older cousin fix the place up. It didn't help that Motoko and the busty Naru girl were both watching the two boys work even though it the damage was largely caused by Motoko's wild swings.

"You know," Ranma yawned, "this would have been easier if you hadn't been so reckless with your sword."

Riled at the remark the young swordswoman gripped the hilt of her blade. "Shut up you pervert! I wouldn't have been off my mark if I hadn't been so flustered by a pervert slipping into my room!"

"I told ya, I didn't mean to pop in on you like that," Ranma sighed. "Something about that symbol that you found in Nerima summoned me here."

Naru scoffed. "What kind of idiot still believes in magic?"

Ranma blinked. "My life would be so much easier if there wasn't any magic," he grumbled.

Taking that as some sort of victory Naru folded her arms over her ample breasts.

"Keitaro!" the petit youngster Shinobu cried out from the first floor. "There's someone here to see you!"

"Ha," Naru shrieked, "probably the police here to bust our little pervert!"

"I ain't a pervert and I ain't little," Ranma retorted. "You're just sore because I beat the both of you."

Motoko scowled, clutching her blade as Keitaro stood between Ranma and the girls.

"Sorry that we kept you up," the kind hearted manager said as he smiled at the younger girl. "Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Um, it's the school festival," the sweet, timid little girl stated.

"Sister," Motoko exclaimed as she set eyes on her older sibling.

"Tsuruko," Ranma greeted with a nod.

"Do I know you?" the elegant woman asked as she eyed Ranma.

"He's the one who appears to be the focus of the magical energies," the scruffy blond man stated as he eyed the group.

"You have a sister?" Keitaro and Naru asked as they both glanced at the two siblings, quickly noting the similarities between them.

"Um, Shinobu," Ranma said as he turned to the girl, "could you get me a cup of cold water and a cup of tea?"

"Hey," Naru said, turning to face Ranma, "don't boss Shinobu around. You don't even live here."

"It's alright," Keitaro said as he smiled at Shinobu, "he's a guest; we should try to be courteous to him at least."

"Brother, what brings you here?" the slender kendoka asked as she offered her sibling a formal nod.

"I sensed a significant disturbance," the elder Aoyama stated. "I felt that it was a significant enough disturbance to warrant my personal attention."

Ranma noted how the slender seemed to scan everyone, apparently appraising everyone as to how trustworthy everyone was.

"Thanks," the pigtailed boy said as Shinobu returned with a glass of cold water and a cup of hot water. "So," he said, turning towards the blond man, "I guess you're the magic guy."

The look that the man shot him told him all he needed to know.

"But I guess you don't want to be the one to show everyone that magic actually exists," he said as he upended the glass of cold water over his head, triggering his transformation. "So I'll show you mine," he said, noting the higher pitch that his female form had. "I'm cursed – cold water turns me into a girl, warm water turns transforms me back to my true form."

"Interesting," the blond mage stated with a slightly amused look.

"But it's not the disturbance that you and Motoko, and possibly Tsuruko felt coming from Nerima," Ranma stated as he shot the younger swordswoman a sideways glance. "That's another story that I'm still trying to piece together myself."

X X X X X

Leonard Testarossa was a forgiving man. Prizing intellect over emotion, he knew that revenge was pointless.

No, the attack he had planned on the compound just outside of Tokyo was not an act of revenge, it served a tactical purpose. Though none of the martial artists except perhaps Master Happosai was on par with the elusive Genma Saotome, the grey haired man hoped that one of the many masters might be able to provide him with some insight about the various techniques that fugitive martial artist had used to destroy his miniature AS.

But if perhaps Genma was there when his forces struck, well, all the better for him.

# # # # #

The chill morning air never felt so refreshing to the young martial artist. The knowledge that he'd somehow returned home was reassuring. It never even occurred to the easy going youth to even try and consider why he'd jumped from dimension to dimension and back.

Though he hadn't slept at all Ranma couldn't help but feel invigorated by the fact that he was home. Standing atop the Hinata Sou (which happened to be run by his cousin) the pigtailed martial artist leapt atop the railing before starting a rigorous kata. Lost in the joy of being home and the wonderful feel of his body flowing freely as he moved he didn't even care that he'd gained an audience.

Leaping down off of the railing he smiled as he finished his kata.

"He's so manly," Nodoka sighed. "I'm sure that if not for the marriage laws he'd be able to handle a full harem of wives."

"I'm already spoken for," Tsuruko stated, "though Motoko could use a nice strapping young man like your son."

"Sister!" Motoko huffed.

"You know, you're actually a lot better than the Motoko in the other world," the pigtailed boy stated as he considered the younger swordswoman. "But you're exactly like your other self," he added as he turned to the elder sibling.

"A technologically advanced world," Eishin Konoe sighed. "I wouldn't want to see that, though there are probably many who would."

"It was so, well… wrong," Ranma stated as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Well, it looks like you're back, so you shouldn't have to worry about going back there," the swordsman stated.

"I should probably get back to Nerima," Ranma stated. "With my luck there's probably a new challenger or fiancée or something for me to deal with. At least I didn't have to worry about that in the other world." After dealing with a dishonorable, rapist Tatewaki Kuno as well as the hentai horde armed with katanas and stun guns new martial arts challenges and plots over the various fiancées seemed refreshing and welcome.

"But being dead is much worse," Tsuruko interjected.

Ranma nodded even as he followed the others back into the Hinata Sou. Though he'd told them about their other selves and given them a rough idea of the darker, technological world, he hadn't told them about his father's misdeeds or that he had blinded his mother. With his mother present he hadn't wanted to share that knowledge at all.

No, he just didn't want to share all the darker, dirtier details of that other world. Motoko probably wouldn't handle the knowledge that her other self had nearly been raped.

Shaking his head Ranma tried to make sense of some things. "Mom," he said, taking her hand into his, "what about pops made you want to marry him?"

The pleasant woman simply turned to Ranma and smiled. "He was such a hard working man when we first met. Yes, he was a charmer, and he could smooth talk almost anyone, but he was a man amongst men too."

Ranma blinked. That made sense.

"Well," he heard Eishun say as they reached Motoko's room, "you probably shouldn't use it. We don't know what that symbol does or if it only affects Ranma, and since we can't seem to move the table it might be best to avoid the room altogether. I'm going to contact my father-in-law and have him send some more of his western magi to investigate it as well since it appears as though the magic employed is a mixture of both eastern and western styles."

The younger swordswoman nodded. "I'll tell Keitaro that I'll need another room for now and to have it blocked off," Motoko stated as she slid open the door to her room. "I'll just get a few things that I'll need this morning out."

X X X X X

The feel of the cold water cascading down her head and face always woke the young woman. It was an essential part of her morning routine, just as much as her little talking rooster alarm clock was. The sudden temperature change was refreshing though as it eased her body into the transition from sleeping to awake as well.

Now fully awake Kaname Chidori began to wash herself as she prepared for the new day.

X X X X X

The sound of gunfire and explosions greeted the residents of the Hinata Sou. Though most had been up for a while either because they were on guard duty or because they were used to waking up early so that they could train, the gathered martial artists were still startled by the sudden attack. Having prepared themselves for a stealthy assault by the man that many of them had once hunted and who was still married to one of the residents, the martial artists had clearly not been prepared for the assault by a squad of gun toting Bonta-kuns.

Exhausted by a long night that had proven much more memorable that she cared for, Motoko cursed herself for leaving her weapon in her old room. Having been advised to leave the room until the envoy from Mahora could arrive to inspect the unmovable table with the very distinguished scorch mark she rushed to find a weapon as more giant sized teddy-bears closed in on the Hinata Sou.

Outside in the open air bath, Ryoko Mitsurugi was cursing herself for leaving her sword in the changing room as a pair of Bonta-kun blasted through the bamboo wall/fence. Grabbing one of the stone statues she hurled it at the closest giant teddy-bear, knocking it off balance and back through the gaping hole in the wall. Grabbing her soaked towel she threw that at the other attacker as she chose to use the wet cloth as a distraction rather than to cover herself.

The operator of the second Bonta-kun cursed as he tried to pull the wet towel from his primary sensors, giving the girl the time she needed cover half the distance between the water and the changing room doors. Firing off a non-lethal round from the shotgun he helped her cover a fourth of the distance as the bean bag rounds sent the naked and wet girl skidding along the paved stone surface.

His moment of triumph was shorted lived though as a sharp blade penetrated the suit's side, cutting through armor and circuitry alike on its way to his lung. Blood flowed freely into his punctured lung even as he tried to turn the suit so that he could see his attacker.

"Fu!" the suits speaker broadcast.

"Structural integrity compromised," the voice of the female AI announced. "Self-destruct set for five seconds… 5... 4… 3… 2… 1…"

The resulting explosion rocked the first Bonta-kun as it pulled itself through the gaping hole in the wall. Though it avoided any damage from the blast the armor and shotgun failed to put up any resistance as a razor sharp katana cut through it like a hot knife through butter. Unfortunately for the pilot his ribs put up even less resistance as the tip of the sword slashed through him.

X X X X X

Leonard smiled as he noted the progress of the battle. Though most of the martial artists had fallen during the initial attack wave, some of the true masters were putting up a good fight before being incapacitated. None of them were worth capturing, but killing them was senseless.

Seeing the slender swordswoman cut down two of the Bonta-kuns in a matter of seconds though was rewarding. Yes, there truly were some exceptional martial artists here. The armored suits should have easily broken even the most durable katana, but a true martial arts master could use the weapon far more effectively than any machine could compensate for.

Yes, it was time for him to deploy the second wave.

X X X X X

"Sir," the officer at the com said as he pressed his ear phones to his ear, "there's fighting in an isolated ward of Tokyo."

The silver-gray haired captain immediately stopped playing with her long pony tail. "Where?"

"The Hinata district," the com officer stated.

"Give me a visual," she ordered.

X X X X X

As good as she was Tsuruko Aoyama knew that she couldn't hold out against the forty or so armored troopers. Though she had accounted for five quick kills she knew that she'd used too much ki in taking them out. If she was lucky she might take out another ten, maybe twelve.

Ordering the other fighters to retreat she hoped that they could use the complex maze system inside the Hinata Sou to hide and escape. But escape was not an option for her. No, as a master of the Shinmeiryu it was her responsibility to ensure the safety of the others. Loping off the arm of another Bonta-kun she kicked it in the side.

"Mo!" its pilot shouted over the speaker system.

"Ffu!" another one shouted as it rushed to the first one's aid. Several non-lethal shots kept her from rushing in and taking the legs off of the rescuing teddy-bear.

Several more shots kept her from escaping though as the troopers isolated her. Though the bean bags and rubber bullets would hamper her she knew that the non-lethal rounds would do little to the armored troops.

With a dozen to her right and another half dozen before her and to her back she knew that she was cornered.

X X X X X

Rushing to her window Motoko grabbed her sword. The sound of fighting and gunfire entered the room through her open window. Leaping over the table she failed to notice the lightly glowing symbol as she noticed that her sister had been isolated by the attacking giant teddy-bears.

X X X X X

"Where's that visual?" the petit captain questioned as she eyed the officer at the com.

"Satellite image on the main screen," the com officer replied as the once blank screen now provided the crew on the bridge with a view of the fighting."

"Bonta-kun?" the young captain exclaimed. "Contact Sagara ASAP!"

X X X X X

The pristine morning light shone through the pristinely clean window, illuminating the once dark room as the brown haired boy opened the curtains. Though it was well before his usual time to get ready for school the boy knew that he had morning clean-up duty, and if there was one thing he was good at it was executing his duties to the fullest of his ability.

The sudden buzzing on his special radio informed him that he might be late. Grabbing the headset he flicked on the com. "Urzu 7, over."

# # # # #

"Stop!" Eishun shouted as he felt the strange magical energies.

But it was too late as Motoko stepped into her room.

Moving faster than he should have Ranma lunged into the room, grabbing hold of Motoko's hand and pulling her back into the hallway even as his momentum carried him towards the table.

"Ranma!" his mother called out even as the boy vanished into thin air.

X X X X X

The appearance of a cloaked arm slave awed even the Shinmeiryu Swordsmistress. Though she'd fought valiantly against the smaller suits she knew that she couldn't defeat the 10 meter all mecha. Still, she would not surrender or allow herself to be captured. Swiftly reversing her grip she sought to eviscerate herself.

Only the precise shooting of the mecha's pilot/master prevented her from ending her life as the rubber bullets impacted against her shoulder and arm, forcing her to drop her blade.

X X X X X

"Deploy the SRT!" Tessa shouted as the image of the unknown Arm Slave appeared on the screen. "Have the ARX-7 prepped and inform Sagara that he's going to receive a special package."

X X X X X

"Tsuruko!" Motoko shouted as she unsheathed her blade. She'd cut through the walls if necessary to save her sister.

"Motoko?" a familiar voice called out from behind her. "Shit, I'm back here," Ranma cursed. Hearing the gunfire Ranma immediately scanned the area. Rushing to the window and ignoring the fact that he'd once again jumped between dimensions he knew that his duty as a martial artist demanded that he do something, anything, to help.

"We're being attacked," Motoko said as she turned to look at her now incapacitated sister laying at the feet of the metal titan.

Not even bothering to ask about what he was getting into Ranma rushed towards the door, suddenly switched direction and ran at the wall, barreling through the wooden walls even as he fed his own ego. "I'm Ranma Saotome and I don't lose," he mumbled to himself as he gathered his golden ki into his fist.

X X X X X

"Ma'am," the helmsman called out, "I'm detecting a Lambda Driver in operation."

X X X X X

"Lambda energy detected," the AI stated, forcing Leonard to pause. Had Mithril secretly infiltrated the loose alliance between the martial artists? And why the hell had they deployed the Arbalest in Hinata of all places?

The brilliant young pilot's mind reeled various thoughts ran through his mind. Now was not the time for him to be distracted. The blast of Lambda energy barely scratched the metal hull of the Arm Slave, though it would probably affect the ECS system.

Checking his scanners he searched for the white Arm Slave.

'_Where are you Sagara?'_

But it wasn't the Arbalest that he saw - it was some crazy martial artist jumping down from a gaping hole on the third floor of the building. '_Martial artists really are insane_.'

Defying gravity and all other expectations the boy wearing red and black landed gracefully on the ground, clearly uninjured as he stood between the mecha and the defeated swordswoman.

Casually he picked up her blade, daring the troops to attack him.

"Sir, we're detecting the launch of several Arm Slaves," one of his men reported.

"Issue the order to withdraw," the silver-gray haired pilot stated. "I'm not leaving here empty handed though."

Pushing the Muscle Package of his prototype Eligor Arm Slave he snatched at the swordswoman, only to have the metal hand halted by the presence of the mysterious martial artist. Somehow the young fighter had managed to grab hold of the wrist joint, halting the metallic titan in its tracks even though the superior power of the mecha should have brushed him aside. Yet it was the Eligor that was pushed back as the pigtailed boy exerted his will upon the mecha.

"Lambda energy detected," the AI chirped.

Expecting the Arbalest once again, Leonard was surprised when the scanners indicated the young martial artist before him. Looking at his displays he noted how the boy seemed to actually glow with a bright, golden light.

"I'm Ranma Saotome and I never lose!" the mysterious boy shouted as he focused the golden energy into his hand.

Leonard barely managed to move the Eligor. Though he didn't suffer a direct hit he had lost use of the mecha's right arm.

"Sir?" the attack leader called out over the com system.

"Issue the order to withdraw," he stated as he forced the Arm Slave to its feet.

Even with its crippled arm the Arm Slave stood up, shooting off several rounds of tear gas and smoke as the metal titan and the giant teddy-bears sought to escape the quickly approaching forces.

Satisfied that his opponents were leaving, Ranma moved over to Tsuruko, helping the swordswoman to her feet.

"Perhaps I really shouldn't have interrupted your night at the hotel."

# # # # #

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes –

I do not own any of these series – Love Hina, Negima, Full Metal Panic, Chrono Cross, Ranma ½, Real Bout High School.

Okay, time to address some of the reviews for this fic.

Yes, this is going to be a confusing fic for the first couple of chapters, well, make that the first half dozen or so. There will be jumps from dimension to dimension, not all of them following the same characters and perspectives, and even though Ranma is the primary character not everything will be from his perspective. Once the primary players are established you'll start to see things from their perspective.

But, to make things easier I'll use X X X X X whenever I switch dimensions and ***** for change in scenes in the same dimension.

Yes, the Lambda Drive essentially creates artificial ki/chi energy.

I'm not going to answer any questions as to why Ranma is jumping dimensions just yet. But don't expect things to get as complicated as they did in Chrono Cross.

As much as I didn't want to, yes, this became a multi-cross fic. I really was hoping to stick to just the Ranma cast and their alternates, but I really can't write a good Akane in any world.

Oh, and I'm not using Ranma ½ anime as cannon or the OVAs either, thus why I had Mrs. Tendo look like Kasumi.

Genma isn't completely evil, he's just much more seriously messed up, which is actually saying a lot considering how bad he is often interpreted in fanon.

Yes, Ranma is not afraid to use weapons, just don't expect him to see techniques like the Evil Cutting Blade and suddenly be able to do it.

Ranma had Tsuruko's sword when he shot the Arm Slave with his ball of ki. He did not use his ki to cut off the arm; simply put he used the sword to extend his arm and thus the force behind throwing the ki. He doesn't use a sword enough or practice using a physical manifestation of ki with a sword to cut through anything.

The sensors picked up the physical manifestation of ki from Ranma, not that he used ki. It's significant because few of the top tier fighters in the Wrecking Crew actually physically manifest ki aside from Ranma and Ryoga (the most notable ones who do it). I'm not counting using stuff space like Mousse supposedly does or even using ki to enhance one's speed/strength such as Akane and Ranma use, but that's not physically manifesting ki. Visible battle auras like what Happosai and Genma don't count either (I'm counting that as an illusion) or neither does Soun's demon head technique.

I am sticking to manga Ranma rather than going with the more zany and insane anime version.

As for Full Metal Panic, well, this takes place after TSR, but sorta works more along the lines of the books/novels rather than the anime/manga series.

Real Bout wise this takes place after the manga. For Love Hina this takes place in volume 2 of the manga (yes the manga as the anime is generally inferior).

For Ranma the story takes place after the end of the manga series.

X X X X X

"I'm Ranma Saotome and I never lose!" the pigtailed boy declared as he faced off against the unknown Arm Slave.

"Who the hell is Ranma Saotome?" the Japanese born blond sniper asked as he watched the replay of the Hinata incident as it had been dubbed.

"Whoever he is he's good," the busty older woman stated as she watched the self proclaimed Ranma Saotome stop an Arm Slave's hand with his own bare hands. "Did he just..?"

"And I thought taking down a Hind with an M9 was impressive," the blond whistled.

"That pilot must have been completely incompetent," the scarred youth stated. "He has the superior position yet somehow he is stopped by a civilian…"

Silence filled the debriefing room as everyone watched this Ranma Saotome create a Lambda field, blasting the unidentified AS and rendering the arm of the metal titan useless.

"Did he..?"

"Is that possible?"

"If I hadn't seen it myself I'd have thought that it was CG."

No one even cared that the lights slowly brightened overhead and that the footage had begun to loop.

"Unfortunately no one knows who this Ranma Saotome is. There are no leads as to where the hell he might be or what the hell he is capable of. As you just saw he fought an unknown Arm Slave and won with just a sword," the commander stated as he leveled his eyes on the assembled crew. "Intel is looking into who this Ranma Saotome is, but for now we need to game plan for any possible encounters with him and for the unknown assailants. The Hinata Martial Arts Association isn't very big, but they have ties to the Emperor of Japan so they have some political clout. Despite that they claim no knowledge of who Ranma Saotome is."

"Saotome?" one of the few Japanese crewmen asked. "As in the son of Genma Saotome - the one that the crazed martial artist killed ten years ago before kidnapping other children to replace his dead son – that Ranma Saotome?"

"It's impossible, his son is dead, and all of the children that Genma Saotome kidnapped were returned home or institutionalized. The Japanese government has kept tabs on all of the victims and they confirm that none of them are anywhere near Tokyo.

"We need to find this Ranma Saotome and discover what he's capable of and how he managed to create a miniature Lambda Drive," the gruff, grizzled soldier stated.

X X X X X

In the relatively long time that he'd been cursed with his alternate/female form Ranma never felt so, compromised. Yes, he'd worn silky, sexy lingerie before, but he'd never ever allowed anyone to ever dress him in a skirt. The pleated black skirt and the white silk blouse hugged his female body, accentuating his perky breasts and full hips.

"You're supposed to wear the school uniform," Motoko scowled.

Never one to whine, the pigtailed redhead did what he did best – insult those around him.

"You're just mad that I look better in this than you do," he smirked as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.

"And you're supposed to wear panties," Tsuruko teased.

Ranma shuddered.

"Even Motoko wears panties," the elder Aoyama stated, eliciting a blush from both the redhead and the two younger swordswomen. "Though I've yet to convince her to wear a bra."

"Sister!" Motoko hissed.

Ryoko averted her eyes even as she smirked.

"No way I'm wearing someone else's underwear," he stated. "Don't forget, despite these perky breasts and full hips I'm a guy."

Borrowing clothes from the handful of teenaged martial artists that remained within the Hinata Sou Ranma knew that he needed to hide until he could find a way back home.

"It'd be a lot easier if I could just go home," he grumbled.

Though they'd tried to use the access point in the Hinata Sou before the police and the military had arrived Ranma remained in this dimension. Stuck in this world Tsuruko knew that Ranma needed to hide his presence, and his curse allowed him to go virtually unnoticed. Still, he refused to wear women's undergarments, especially ones that had already been used.

"There's no way you're going to go commando with a skirt on," Ryoko hissed. "Do you know how many men put mirrors on their feet or hide cameras on the ground just so that they can look up girl's skirts?"

That made Ranma pause. Though he lacked any degree of feminine modesty he really didn't approve of men doing such despicable things. No wonder this Happosai was so reserved, even he wasn't as perverted as some of the men in this Japanese society.

"Can't I wear pants or something?" the tiny redhead pleaded.

"If you wear pants people are going to think you're a lesbian," Motoko said with a light blush.

"What?" the gender cursed martial artist exclaimed. "What's wrong with me advertising that I like girls over boys? It's true, right?"

Tsuruko sighed. "Unfortunately none of the girls here owns pants outside of what we wear when we're sparring or fighting and wearing a gi or anything that marks you as a martial artist outside of the compound would draw attention to you.

"The government is investigating the incident," Tsuruko stated. "Until then we're going to have you stay at the Tendo compound with a few of the others, but to get you there without drawing attention to yourself you'll need to wear a skirt or a dress. They still don't know about your curse, and Master Happosai has decided that it's best that they don't know you're, well, you."

Ranma grumbled.

"You'll have to continue pretending to be a girl," the elder swordswoman stated. "And you'll have to dress like a girl, a proper girl."

Ranma glanced at the two younger swordswomen.

"It wouldn't be as difficult if you hadn't broadcast yourself and told the enemy your name," Motoko grumbled.

"So what's happening at the Hinata Sou?" Ranma asked even as he conceded that he'd have to dress like a girl.

"Just routine questioning," Tsuruko replied. "Ever since the incident ten years ago society has started to look down on most high level martial artists. Though there are still several dozen, most of them constantly are under public scrutiny. The Hinata Sou was one of the few places that we were ensured a measure of anonymity, and we've had a few idiots attempting to assault us, but for the most part we're relatively safe so long as we travel in groups."

"And the Tendos?" Ranma asked.

"Soun Tendo is viewed as a hero for his role in pursuing and eventually capturing your father," Motoko stated. "If not for the history that the Shinmeiryu has we probably would be just as scorned as the other martial arts schools. Still, the world doesn't seem to need exorcists and shrine maidens anymore."

"A world that's lost the way of the warrior and substituted it for technology," Ryoko concluded. "Where mecha like the one you fought help mad men wipe entire villages in the blink of an eye."

"Technology over skill," the pigtailed girl sighed.

"No, they still require skill," the elegant swordswoman stated, "just not as much when the soldier's abilities are augmented by such advanced technology."

X X X X X

"I'm sorry about this," Motoko said as she donned another bra.

"Don't worry about it," the auburn haired beauty said as she appraised the taller girl. Having rarely seen the other girl when she hadn't bound her breasts Naru (and many others) had always assumed that Motoko was, well, less endowed. But seeing her fill out the new blue lacy bra that she'd purchased for herself Naru had to admit that perhaps she (and Kitsune) had underestimated the kendoka. "It's not like you can enter your room right now. With your brother and the others trying to keep people from vanishing like that pervert did we'll just have to help you make due."

Though the fact that she was effectively barred from her own room was bothersome the young swordswoman couldn't help but wonder about the fate of the pigtailed stranger. Yes, he did seem to know her, and he was related to Keitaro, but aside from that she knew very little about him. Yet despite that the kendoka couldn't help but think about him.

"Something bothering you sugar?" Kitsune asked as she held up a skirt for the slender girl.

"I…" Motoko stammered, "I feel so…" strange? Confused? "uncomfortable without my usual attire." No, she just couldn't admit to either of the two older women that a man had confused her. Though it was similar to how she'd felt when Keitaro had first arrived, this was different.

"Did you get enough rest last night?" Naru asked. "What am I saying - of course you didn't – not with that guy popping in on you like that."

"You do look a bit out of sorts," Kitsune seconded.

"Maybe you should call in sick today," Naru suggested. "You're probably tired from everything that happened last night and you don't have your school uniform."

Maybe she was sick, just like when she'd challenged Keitaro.

# # # # #

"I can't believe that boy is abandoning his responsibilities here," the rotund Genma Saotome grumbled as he knelt before his wife and one of the mages that was investigating the odd energies that originated in Nerima.

"Sir," the Japanese mage interjected, "I seriously doubt that your son is willingly traveling or purposely jumping between parallel dimensions. Do you know of anyone who might have the means and a motive to get rid of him?"

"Well," Nodoka interjected, "there are all the rivals."

"Rivals?"

"My son is a man amongst men," Nodoka stated. "While he is engaged to Akane Tendo, there are a multitude of young ladies who are constantly vying for his affections. As such there is also a multitude of young men who are also vying with Ranma for the affections of those young ladies."

Genma nodded.

"Do you have any names?" Professor Akashi asked.

"Well, there's Tatewaki Kuno, and his father-"

"His father's a rival?"

"Not really, he's the principal of the school and he's constantly trying to get Ranma to follow his insane orders," Soun Tendo stated. "And Ranma is a constant thorn in his side as he fights all the crazy rules that the principal makes for the school."

Akashi nodded even as he jotted down the names.

"Then there's Ryoga Hibiki, Ranma's primary rival. He even followed Ranma to China he was so obsessed with avenging himself," Genma added. "Still don't know how he did that considering his horrible sense of direction. Poor boy would turn left when he was supposed to go straight, go straight when he's supposed to go backwards, you get the idea."

"There's also that boy Mousse," Soun stated. "I can't believe he's a world class martial artist with his eyesight."

"Is that all?" the mage asked.

Genma shook his head. "Those are just the primary rivals; there are at least another dozen or who still have a grudge against him."

This was going to be a long investigation.

X X X X X

Having spent the past several months living with the Tendos Ranma, er, Ranko, had become used to having meals served a certain way. It didn't help that he usually had to defend his food against his father's slowly growing stomach for what passed as 'training'.

Nothing prepared him for having dinner with these Tendos. First was the fact that Mrs. Tendo enforced strict manners upon all of her children. Second was the fact that Mrs. Tendo cooked much better than even Kasumi. Third was the fact that they sat at a dinner table, but with the additional guests they ate at a dinner table in the dojo. Finally there was the fact that Konatsu Tendo, their adopted son, was, well, a Tendo.

This Konatsu was very different from the one Ranma had known, though admittedly he really didn't know much about Konatsu other than that he appeared to be very devoted to Ukyo and that he had been raised as a kunoichi. It was weird to think of how easily the male kunoichi had adapted to being a Tendo. It was also weird to see Konatsu not actually trying to serve, cook, or give it away at unbelievably low prices.

But the biggest surprise had to be the fact that this Konatsu was essentially a male Akane. True, he didn't have the fits of rage that Akane had that made her monstrously strong, though this Akane didn't either, but he used the same style Tendo Style.

As the Patriarch of the Tendo family as well as the Master of the style and dojo, Soun oversaw the sparring matches as the visiting martial artists sparred against the three Tendo daughters and the adopted son. Ranma/Ranko couldn't help but be impressed by the speed and skill that all three Tendo daughters had despite the fact that these siblings had all been trained in the Tendo Style of Anything Goes Martial Arts.

Kasumi had proven to be very proficient in the style even though she sparred against the kendoka Ryoko Mitsurugi. Though the elder Tendo daughter was taller she lacked the range that Ryoko had with her wooden sword she had put up a good fight, lasting nearly a minute before the busty kendoka managed to connect with a tap to the shoulder of the taller girl.

Nabiki had failed to display any of her skills though as she sparred against Kanako as the lithe Urashima powered through the middle Tendo daughter's guard, stopping their brief session with a punch that stopped just a hair's breathe from Nabiki's chin.

Akane's bout against Motoko was impressive, proving to Ranma that the youngest Tendo daughter really was the best of the three in terms of martial arts skill. This Akane Tendo did something that Ranma never expected her to do, she dodged Motoko's repeated attacks, though ultimately Akane suffered the same fate as Kasumi as she ultimately lost as a result of the slight advantage in range that the slender kendoka had. Still, it was clear that Akane knew how to fight against someone armed with a sword or blade, probably a result of her having to go to school with the psychotic Tatewaki Kuno.

The quick after dinner sparring session had proven to be very enlightening for Ranma. Though he'd briefly blocked/repelled Akane's attacks the other night he'd begun to suspect that she was a better fighter than the Akane in his world/dimension. Yes, technically she was a better fighter, but Ranma wasn't sure if this Akane could deal with the other Akane's power.

And then there was Konatsu. Ranma knew that the cross-dressing male kunoichi was hailed as a ninja genius, and watching how he employed the Tendo Style of Anything Goes Martial Arts it was clear that Konatsu was a genius. Not as good as Ranma was of course, but still remarkable. Thinking of how things had gone since he'd arrived in Nerima months ago he couldn't help but wonder if things might have been different if it had been someone with Konatsu's skill who had come knocking first rather than Kuno who was devoted to Kendo and sought to improve his skills but not to innovate or adapt the style. Yes, Konatsu as a student of Anything Goes Martial Arts was almost terrifying, almost in that he wasn't at Ranma's level, but he had potential in that he was adaptable, something that Ryoga had lost after the Breaking Point training.

Leaping over a powerful high kick combo Ranma smirked. Yes, Konatsu was good, great even. His combination of speed and power made the Tendo Style fearsome, something that Akane just couldn't accomplish despite all the bricks that she'd broken. To prove that point Konatsu followed up with a series of quick kicks – low, high, middle, high, low, that kept the busty redhead from taking to the air even as the adopted Tendo advanced.

Slowly giving ground Ranma backpedaled.

A swift high kick turned into feint as the adopted Tendo rushed in with a series of swift elbows and punches, forcing Ranma to actually parry a punch before ducking under an overhead right, tagging the overly aggressive Konatsu with a palm strike to the ribs that knocked the other fighter down.

Quickly standing up Konatsu bowed as Soun called a halt to the brief bout.

"Those are impressive moves," Happosai stated as the founder and Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts considered the young fighters and their sparring bouts.

"Yes, truly inspired sparring," Soun seconded. "Seeing you all fight gives me hope that each of our schools shall remain strong even in these dark times."

Natsume Tendo patted her husband's shoulder lovingly.

"The baths are ready, though unfortunately our meager bathroom is only large enough to accommodate two of you at a time," the patriarch stated. "Once you're done you'll find the dojo set for your stay tonight."

The young guests nodded.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Tsuruko replied.

Excused from the dojo as the two masters and the grandmaster conferred, the young martial artists filed into the main house.

"Why don't you use the bath first," Kasumi suggest rather than asked the younger martial artists.

"Thank you," Ryoko smiled nervously. "Come on Ranko."

X X X X X

Kaname was slightly miffed. Though she knew that Sousuke had recently re-enrolled, it still irked her that he'd missed a full day of school. And on a day that he had morning clean up duties as well. She'd nearly been late because she'd been forced to stop by his apartment to check up on him.

It was the news of an attack in one of the various wards of Tokyo though that concerned her. Though she knew that Sousuke was the best AS pilot, she couldn't help but be a bit concerned for him and the others. Having been saved by, met, and helped save them she had grown close to the crew of the _Tuatha De Danaan_ in the past few months.

Once, not too long ago, Kaname wouldn't have cared about the various reports of fighting, but ever since Sagara had saved her and his companions had saved the rest of the second years she had come to notice the various reports of fighting, especially if Sagara was missing school that day.

The gentle vibrating of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts. Grabbing the tiny device she smiled as she read the text message. Sagara and the others were safe, though he'd be 'working' for the next few days.

X X X X X

There were few times in Ranma's in the past six or so months that he truly regretted the face that his female form was redheaded and busty. True, his cursed form had allowed him to get some good food for free, but currently it was proving to be a liability. Due to his slight resemblance to the busty Ryoko Mitsurugi, Tsuruko had introduced him as Ranko Mitsurugi, cousin to Ryoko Mitsurugi. Given their close relationship no one thought anything of the fact that Ranko and Ryoko had entered the bathroom together, well, none of the Tendos thought anything of it.

Following the real girl into the baths Ranma couldn't help but recall the first time he'd used the Tendo bath when he'd first arrived in the other Nerima. Shaking his head he averted his eyes as Ryoko quickly stripped off her white blouse and red skirt before removing her matching lacy bra and panties.

Again Ranma averted his eyes as he noted that the layout of this bath was slightly different from the one he was used to as these Tendos had placed a mirror on the wall opposite of the bath. Closing his eyes so that Ryoko had some degree of privacy the smaller redhead waited for the other redhead to slip into the bath water.

Leaning against the side of the bath so that her back was to him, Ryoko sighed, "Hurry up, we don't want to keep the others waiting."

Ranma gulped even as he stripped off the biker-shorts and skirt before slipping out of the borrowed blouse. Stepping into the hot water Ranma quickly transformed into his true, male form even as Ryoko scooted ahead to give him room to sit behind her.

It didn't help that his body was reacting in ways that he didn't want it to. He really couldn't help that Ryoko was very attractive, and she wasn't throwing herself at him like Shampoo was. Hell, she was trying to be modest in an awkward situation. Yet that show of modesty made her all the more alluring.

"Um," the redhead said, breaking Ranma out of his thoughts, "could you... wash my back?"

X X X X X

Motoko paced the tiny changing room as she and Kanako waited their turn to use the bath. Having already unbound her breasts she had little to do as she tried to not consider that Ranma was in the bath with her primary rival. Though she considered the busty reddish-brown haired girl a close friend, she also considered the swordswoman her primary rival.

"You're thinking about them, aren't you?" Kanako whispered softly so that only Motoko could hear her.

The taller girl glanced at the lithe fighter even as she continued to pace around the tiny room.

"They're 'cousins'," Kanako stated just in case anyone was listening in. Standing up so that she was in Motoko's path she stopped the taller girl. "Who are you more concerned about – him or her?"

Mouth agape, Motoko failed to find an answer to that question. Yes, she was concerned about her friend having to bath with a man that she wasn't married to, hell they weren't even engaged, though Saotome appeared to have multiple fiancées. And he had been considerate of her when he'd rescued her from Tatewaki's clutches. So who was she worried about and why?

X X X X X

A chill crept down Ryoko's spine as she felt Ranma pour the soap onto her back. Though she'd accepted the fact that she was supposed to be Ranko Mitsurugi's cousin and all that entailed she couldn't help but feel awkward around the talented martial arts genius. Not only had he saved Motoko and Tsuruko, he'd stood up to an Arm Slave and won.

Ranma really was a man amongst men.

Feeling his strong yet gentle hands washing her back tentatively the swordswoman couldn't help but feel a bit relaxed even as she sat on the tiny stool completely naked. Clearly he was just as nervous as she was, though being naked together in the bath was hard enough for both of them, they both knew that they needed to continue playing the role of cousins even though Ranma was currently, well, Ranma and not Ranko. At least that was what the reddish-brown haired kendoka told herself as she savored the feel of him pressing his hand and the scrubbing pad against her back.

Having grown up at the Hinata Sou she'd expected him to be rougher as he washed her. Even the younger girls were surprisingly rough as they washed each other's backs, but Ranma seemed to apply just the right amount of pressure as he scoured her back with the abrasive sponge. Though the Hinata Sou was a co-ed dormitory, only the married couples used the baths together. Was this what it would be like if she were married to him? Feeling the warm water rinsing her back as he scooped it up by hand, she couldn't help but think that she wouldn't mind letting him wash her back again.

"Thanks," she whispered gently as she moved to stand up. "Your turn."

Ranma froze as the beautiful kendoka turned around. Opening his mouth to protest he stopped as he felt her press her finger to his lips.

"If you speak someone might hear you," she stated as she held one arm over her breasts, giving her some degree of modesty as she stood before him.

It never occurred to him that he was also still kneeling or that he was completely naked.

Swallowing the growing lump in his throat he nodded before standing up and exchanging positions with her, sitting on the tiny bathing stool as she knelt on the waterproof cushion that he'd just been kneeling on.

X X X X X

Tatewaki Kuno couldn't help but wonder what the next 24 hours had in store for him. The previous 24 hours had proven to be a bane to the heir of the Kuno fortune. Though he'd defeated the beautiful Motoko Aoyama he'd been robbed of his prize by the unknown pigtailed boy who had literally added injury to insult by cutting his face and eye, robbing him of the use of his left eye.

But being the heir of the Kuno fortunes Tatewaki had connections. Watching satellite footage of the attack on the Hinata Sou, home to several Shinmeiryu swordsmen and women though brightened his mood as he watched several of their fighters get cut down by the non-lethal weapons that the attackers used.

Yes, the cursed Shinmeiryu deserved what they got, especially since their future leader was supposed to have spent the night entertaining him. Surely this was karma at work.

And to be beaten by such adorable opponents – that was truly amusing.

But it was the sight of the current leader of the Shinmeiryu getting beaten by the unknown Arm Slave that made Kuno smile vindictively. Yes, this truly was justice. Not only had Kuno Industries helped create that particular model, but now it was wrecking havoc against the Shinmeiryu.

The smile on the vindictive Kuno's face quickly faded though as a familiar figure in red and black arrived. Somehow the mysterious boy had stopped the metal titan as it reached for the hated Shinmeiryu leader.

"That's impossible," Kuno muttered breathlessly. "That pilot must have been incompetent! There's no way that that suit should have been stopped by a mere boy!"

"So I'm incompetent now, am I?" a cold voice asked from the shadows.

"You were the pilot of the Eligor Prototype?" Kuno answered with his own question.

Silence answered him as the silver-grey haired youth stepped out of the shadows.

"Was there an issue with the software or hardware?" Kuno asked. Though he prided himself on his martial arts prowess Kuno knew that this man was truly dangerous.

"We're testing the systems right now," Leonard stated. "Hopefully the equipment you have on hand will be able to determine the bug that I had while operating the Eligor prototype."

Kuno nodded. "Yes, better to get the bugs worked out of the system before we begin to mass produce it or add the Lambda Drive."

Silver-gray hair bobbed as Leonard nodded. Reading his host's eyes the designer of the advanced Third Generation Arm Slave glanced at the satellite image. "You know him?"

Kuno's eye twitched. "I encountered him last night," the kendoka stated. "He gave me this," he pointed at the patch over his eye. "It seems that our friend here is quickly making a long list of dangerous enemies."

The young Whispered nodded. "It would be best if you stopped your own antics," he advised. "If you really want my organization's assistance than you'll need to stop acting like a petty tyrant. Your 'Guardians' can still operate, but you can't allow yourself to get too much attention."

Kuno nodded. "I shall take consider your advice," he replied solemnly. "But when the time is right and the mass production of the Eligor is complete I shall rule over Japan with an iron fist. And that accursed Ranma Saotome will be the first to feel my blade."

X X X X X

"You're sure about this?" Soun stammered. "It, it's an impossible story…"

Happosai nodded. "But as you may recall from your time with me the impossible is often very possible."

The Tendo Patriarch nodded. "So that boy is actually Genma's son… and he's trying to return to his world – so what can we do to assist him?"

"For now we're trying to keep him safe," Happosai explained. "We still don't know who's responsible for the attack on the Hinata Sou, but until we have a clearer idea of what we're facing we're keeping him in hiding. Plus we've got an idea of where the portals to the other dimension are and though we're sure they're keyed specifically to him we don't know what opens the portals."

"We are sure that only he is affected by the portals, but that's all we know," Tsuruko added.

"So the attack this morning..?"

"We're still not sure who was behind it," the ancient grandmaster replied. "It's not Genma's style, but he had made plenty of enemies – enemies that might feel it necessary to hit him where it does hurt – his wife."

The grizzled martial arts master nodded. "I assume then that Nodoka has been sent someplace where she won't have to interact with the boy then."

Happosai nodded. "It would be too much to ask each of them to have them deal with each other right now."

X X X X X

Having left Eligor with the younger Kuno, Leonard knew that his night was not over. His nightly ritual of checking in with his subordinates and then with the mysterious Sophia left him with little time to relax. Then again, as a Whispered, the young man rarely rested. Even in his sleep his mind raced with various ideas, equations, designs, formulas on how to improve a wide variety of things. In fact it was in his sleep that he'd designed the Eligor.

But just as he overshadowed his sister's genius, Leonard knew that there was another Whispered whose brilliance outshone his own – Sophia.

Pressing his palm to the novel A Tale of Two Cities, the young genius stood alone in the darkness of his room. Slowly a gentle glow illuminated the room as a large tube filled with a light blue liquid was revealed as the walls full of books parted. The form of a nude woman could be seen floating in the thick liquid that preserved her body even as her mind continued to operate.

Though the beautiful woman could not voice her own thoughts they did appear on a flat, liquid crystal screen near the center of the wall sized tank.

"Ranma Saotome," the artificial voice said.

A chill ran through Leonard's body.

"He is the key."

X X X X X

The girl's long silver-grey hair shone a pale blue as she sat before the monitor. Having fallen asleep before the computer that her brother had created to help find the Whispered, Tessa Testarossa slowly stirred as the computer's AI Sophia stirred, turning on the long inactive screen as it flashed a name – Ranma Saotome.

Rubbing the wiriness from her tired eyes the petit girl stifled a yawn. "Ranma Saotome… where have I heard that name before?"

Suddenly her eyes widened. Ordering Sophia to print out all available information that it had on Ranma Saotome, the young captain rushed to the bridge.

X X X X X

Despite all the time that he'd spent with the Tendos, his Tendos, Ranma had never slept in the dojo. Yes, he'd spent entire nights sparring and fighting in the dojo, but he hadn't actually slept in the wide open dojo. It didn't help that he was in his cursed form, and that he was sleeping in the same room as Ryoko Mitsurugi whom he'd just bathed with and been naked with without anyone breaking in to the room demanding that he either marry her or that he apologize to them for whatever he was doing wrong. And then there was the fact that he was also sleeping in the same room as Motoko, though she wasn't anywhere as bad as the Motoko in his world who was in fact very much like the Akane from his world. Oh, and he was also sleeping in the same room as Akane Tendo, who was just as short tempered as the Akane Tendo that he was engaged too, but who was much more skilled in the arts which made her just as big a threat as the other Akane Tendo.

He couldn't help but think of how Ryoko's bare breasts had felt as she pressed them against him while scrubbing his back, or how her erect nipples had aroused him as he sat before her. It was a good thing that she'd splashed him with cold water once she was done though.

Yes, sleeping just seemed to elude Ranma tonight.

Even though he hadn't slept in over 30 hours Ranma just couldn't sleep. Aside from the handful of beautiful young women that distracted him and made him feel things that he'd long repressed, there was the fact that he was currently in a parallel dimension, one where this reality's version of him had not only maimed and blinded his mother, but was such a threat that his own father had to put him down like a rabid dog.

In truth it wasn't so much that the women around him were keeping him up, but that part of the pigtailed martial artist's mind just refused to process all the data he'd acquired over the past 30 plus hours.

It used to be that few things could bother Ranma. It used to be that he could get through things and the crazy and insane things around him would just become part of his daily, weekly, or monthly routine, but now, now he began to wonder if that approach had been the right one. Perhaps he did need to resolve some of the many issues that he'd been running away from and hoping would resolve itself without any true effort on his behalf.

# # # # #

A/N

Yes, this fic is taking on a life of its own. I hope you all like it and that the new changes in the format help clear things up for you all.

Please let me know what you think.

Dreamingfox


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes –

No, I don't own anything but my own ideas, and even those are borrowed or were set up by others before me.

X X X X X

Despite her long friendship with the adopted Tendo, Kanako couldn't help but feel slightly out of place as she stood beneath the tree in the Tendo yard as she waited for him. Though they'd often had late night rendezvous before, meeting him in his own yard while she was staying in the same room as him (technically they were all sleeping in the dojo) was, well, different.

She hated the fact that she was keeping a secret from him. Had the perceptive future detective caught onto her act?

"Hey," Konatsu hissed silently from above. Silently he slipped out of the tree branch and onto the ground beside the adopted Urashima.

"Hey," she replied.

"Something's up," the observant youth stated, causing Kanako to stiffen. "I've known Ryoko and Ranko are supposed but there's no resemblance."

"Don't…"

"So something is up?" he said as he turned to face her. "The way she moved while fighting – well… it's clear that she wasn't wearing a bra or bound like Motoko and Ryoko were."

That made Kanako blink. He'd noticed how his opponent's breasts moved while they fought? The urge to bash her friend's head in slowly manifested inside of the lithe fighter.

"And it was clear from the way she jumped that she wasn't wearing panties underneath as well," Konatsu said, completely unaware that he was digging his own grave.

"She's traveled abroad a lot," Kanako stated as she slowly clenched her fist tighter.

Leaning back Konatsu nodded. "That makes sense," he muttered to himself. "I can't believe she was going commando though."

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?" Kanako asked, slightly annoyed that he'd called her out to talk about another girl – well, pseudo girl.

"Well, the way that you and Motoko reacted when Ryoko and Ranko went into the bath together…"

Despite herself Kanako couldn't help but tremble as she fought the urge to brain him. Yes, he was probably thinking of the two girls naked together. Boys… they were so simple minded sometimes.

"And the fact that she wears pants," he added as he considered every facet, "she's not a lesbian, is she? That's why you and Motoko were hesitant to bath with her.

"But if she's really not related to Mitsurugi… are they, you know, lovers?"

A stiff open-palmed strike to the top of his head knocked him over. Clearly the aspiring detective had been too engrossed in his thoughts that he'd failed to avoid the blow.

'_I'm right! Ranko is a lesbian! They _are_ lovers!_'

X X X X X

"You want me to what?" Melissa Mao exclaimed as she stared at the frail captain.

Kurtz refrained from smirking as he watched his commanding officer slam her hands on the captain's desk.

"We need you to spy on Genma Saotome's brother," the gruff former Russian stated as he acted on the Captain's behalf. "We doubt that he would try and contact his wife as she's hidden away and guarded by a cadre of very competent martial artists. Even though the two brothers haven't spoken since the younger brother assisted in chasing the elder out of Japan, intelligence believes that he is a solid lead."

"So you want me to cozy up to this guy's brother?" Mao growled.

"Urzu-6 will also be assigned to back you up," Tessa stated. "We've arranged for him to transfer into Jindai High and pose as a student there."

The blond Japanese born German soldier stood at attention. This was not what he'd expected. "Cool, I get to work with Sagara."

A stern look from Kalinin silenced the blond.

"We believe that Ryu Saotome maintains contacts with the Martial Arts Alliance through this girl," Kalinin stated as the picture of a busty reddish-brown haired girl appeared on the screen behind him. "Ryoko Mitsurugi is a high ranking member of the Shinmeiryu and the best friend to the Shinmeiryu's future leader" behind him the picture changed once again, this time showing a picture of a slender and elegant swordswoman "Motoko Aoyama."

"Your mission is to get close to Mitsurugi and Aoyama," Tessa explained, "but both of you will provide each other with the necessary back up and Sagara should be there to assist as needed."

"Sweet," Kurtz said with a smile as he looked at the dossier on both targets.

"Why are they important? I thought we were looking for this Ranma Saotome guy?" Melissa asked.

"Because," Kalinin interjected, "our sources in the government discovered that someone has created a possible sleeper agent" again the picture on the screen changed "we suspect that this 'Ranko Mitsurugi' is a cover for someone else."

The blonde's keen eye for women quickly picked up the very noticeable differences between the two Mitsurugi girls. "So why are they planting this girl?"

"We don't know," Tessa replied. "But we do know that there never was a Ranko Mitsurugi. Be careful because the Japanese and other agencies might be investigating her as well."

X X X X X

"So you're to start school on in two weeks," Ryoko stated as she and Motoko eyed Ranko.

"The school is very strict," Motoko stated, "all girls must wear skirts. And if you're wearing a skirt you're going to have to wear panties."

Ranma sighed. This was a fight he wouldn't win, though he could hope that he'd be back home before he started school here. With mid-term exams starting this week he knew that he'd probably end up failing the fall term and possibly be forced to repeat the entire year if the crazy principal didn't expel him outright.

For a supposedly technologically advanced society, they were very sexist. It wasn't enough that virtually every school uniform for girls mandated a skirt except for those participating in a sport and that even outside of school women and girls who didn't wear skirts were ostracized. There was also the fact that unless women or girls traveled in packs of three or more they were often victimized by lecherous men either through active though barely noticeable groping.

Never one to conform to the whims of society Ranma considered just running off. Unfortunately he knew that he needed the Shinmeiryu's assistance if he were to return home to his dimension. Though he'd managed to return once before he'd also been sent back here, thus forcing him to rely on others for once.

"We're fortunate that your uncle works there," Motoko added. "He helped us prepare the paperwork to have you enrolled there. Still, you need to take the entrance exams, and those are going to be today and tomorrow."

Ranma quickly spun around, giving a few passersby outside of the store a view of the red, lacy panties he was currently wearing. "Uncle? I have an uncle?"

Both kendokas looked at each other, then at Ranma. Clearly he had picked up on something that they had overlooked.

"He's a teacher at Jindai High School," Happosai stated as he appeared at Ranma's feet.

Ranma shivered as the old letch caressed his calf before kicking the old pervert away.

"Red is definitely your color," Happosai smirked as he bounced off the ceiling and landed on Ryoko's shoulder gently.

The pigtailed girl rushed to smash the shriveled grandmaster but stopped as the girls glared at him.

"I understand that you're used to simply lashing out at authority figures, but you'll need to refrain from that," Tsuruko chided. "Until we can discover the nature of the symbols in the Hinata Sou and in Nerima we can't risk having you around them. We still don't know if it's specifically keyed to you or if others could go through as well. We are certain though that you seem to trigger those doorways."

Straightening the skirt, Ranma sighed. "Fine," he conceded "but I ain't wearing a bra or panties. No one should be looking up my skirt anyways and as long as they don't show under my skirt I'm going with boxers."

"Fine," Happosai agreed. "But you'll have to wear nude."

Ranma blinked. Hadn't he just agreed to let him wear boxers?

"Nude," Tsuruko stated, "as in the color."

Ranma continued to blink.

"She means you're going to find boxers that match your skin tone," Ryoko smirked.

"Fine," the pigtailed girl replied. "So, tell me about my uncle."

The tiny grandmaster nodded. "He's a Karate Master, but he hasn't taught anyone in ten years when he helped chase your father out of the country."

"Karate?"

"Your father and uncle have some lingering family issues, which led to the two of them parting ways once Genma became my student," the little man sighed. "It's a long story, one that isn't mine to share."

Ranma opened his mouth to protest but decided against it as he noted the sad look in the old man's wide eyes. This Happosai was actually considerate of people, something that his Happosai wasn't very capable of or known for, though it seemed to stem from the issue with Genma and the incident that made this world so different from his.

It irked him that the pervy Happosai was still able to run around and grope girls, though he only did it to him or when the old coot wasn't around the female martial artists as the grandmaster treated them as martial artists first, women/girls second. But of course Ranma was the exception to that rule and Happosai was clearly taking advantage of that loophole.

Still, he had an uncle. He had family beyond just his mom and pop. The idea excited him just as much as it terrified him. He'd definitely have to look them up once he got back home.

X X X X X

As much as she hated to admit it, Kaname Chidori enjoyed having Sousuke Sagara around. Though she prided herself as being a strong, independent young woman who lived in a 'modern' part of Tokyo, she knew that there were those who would seek to exploit and take advantage of women and girls who weren't traveling in groups of three or more or who weren't accompanied by one of the male gender.

The few times she'd traveled anywhere alone had resulted in her being propositioned by some creepy guy. If not for the fact that the gated apartment building she lived in was essentially built specifically for single women which didn't let any men inside other than the doorman or repairmen or unless they were invited guests, she would have had to have someone walk her to her apartment door like some of the other girls she knew. It didn't help that many of the men who lived alone in the apartment building across the way had telescopes and binoculars so that they could peep in on the girls who lived in her apartment building.

Hell, Sagara lived there, and he'd done the same when they'd first met, though he was doing it under orders.

Still, even as protected as her apartment was she'd suffered from the usual panty raids and whatnot, and she lived on the third floor. Unfortunately the loss of personal items like that never merited the police's attention, though the fact that several young men had injured themselves recently as they failed to scale the sides of the building had drawn the police's attention, if only to keep the men from seriously injuring themselves.

But even without Sagara around to snipe at the men who dared to climb up that side of the building, or threatened to shoot anyone who attempted to grope her, Chidori knew that the local men had marked her as someone to stay away from, thus making her all the more popular with the other girls (well, those who could stand Sagara's antics) as she (and her watchdog) made their way to and from school. Even with Sagara out of school the previous day none of the usual perverts (the few who remained) had dared to come close to her, though it also meant that regular, non-pervy guys also shied away from her.

Though Jindai had officially wrapped up their exams a few like Sagara needed to retake the exams if he hoped to not be held back a year. Despite the fact that she didn't have to go to school for anything other than morning clean up (in Sagara's stead of course) she had taken the week off to help the genius AS pilot prepare for the exams. Hopefully their hard work would pay off.

X X X X X

Ranma was not happy. Not only had he been forced to wear a skirt (as part of the uniform that all girls wore at Jindai, even perspective students) but he was forced to endure the long and agonizingly boring entrance exams. Even worse was the fact that he'd have to take the mid-term exams as well just to keep pace with the students at his new school.

'_Kami, at least I'm not wearing panties_,' the pigtailed girl thought.

X X X X X

The feel of a solid shaft in her hand felt nearly as good as holding the hilt of her katana. For the kendoka practice was the best way for her to work her way through her thoughts. And she had a lot to think about and work through.

Blocking an overhead horizontal slash she rushed in, snapping off a swift tap to her opponent's head.

"Point," the impartial referee cried out.

The two kendoka parted, offering each other a polite bow as they reset themselves.

Rushing in Motoko led with a feint, then swatted away her opponent's blade only to have hers taken from her as Ryoko countered then followed up with a blow to her shoulder.

"Point," the referee declared.

The pair of kendoka reset once again. This time they traded several hits, neither one able to land a point for several minutes as they worked their way around the gymnasium floor. With school effectively out for the exams and the pair of kendoka had the run of the practice facility.

"Point," the referee shouted as Motoko connected with a shot to the other girl's ribs.

"Good match," Motoko said as Ryoko pulled off her mask.

"Good match," the bustier kendoka returned. "It's almost time for lunch."

"Go ahead," the slender kendoka stated. "I'm just going to keep practicing for a bit."

X X X X X

With the first part of the entrance exams over Ranma eagerly awaited the chance to eat. But that was a good forty minutes away. Forty agonizingly long minutes before he could enjoy any food.

Sighing, he turned his attention back to his exam.

X X X X X

Slipping into the shower Ryoko couldn't help but feel the exhilaration that she always felt after a good workout. But as good as that felt she couldn't help but recall how things had felt the previous night when she'd bathed with Ranma.

Despite his great power and ability Ranma had not tried to take advantage of her, although she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she wouldn't have enjoyed being with him. He'd proven to be surprisingly gentle with her. And he'd really was hung like a horse, though admittedly Ryoko had never seen a man naked before her encounter with Ranma.

As the water cascaded down her bare breasts she couldn't help but wonder how his strong yet deceptively gentle hands would feel cupping her full breasts or teasing her nipples. Caressing her own breast she massaged the fleshy mound.

Thoughts of Ranma and his perfectly tone and muscular body pressed against hers filled the kendoka's mind as she slowly massaged her womanhood.

The sound of the door to the locker room opening prompted the busty girl from continuing. Turning off the shower she quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. Grabbing a second towel to dry off with she headed out of the shower.

Though she couldn't relieve herself in the shower the busty kendoka wondered if perhaps she could find some relief in the baths with Ranma.

X X X X X

A slight chill ran down the pigtailed martial artist's spine as he turned the completed English exam over, signaling that he was done with that section of the exam. Now all he needed to do was wait another ten minutes for the morning exam to let out so that he could get some lunch.

X X X X X

'_Did anything happen between them?_' Motoko asked herself as she replayed the way that her two companions had been acting or reacting to each other since bathing together. '_I shouldn't pry – it's their business, but Ryoko's my best friend…_'

Slashing down with her sheathed katana she cut her imaginary opponent before resetting her posture and stance.

'_I'm too tense_,' she chided herself as she tried to correct her form. '_What's wrong with me? Why can't I focus on my technique?_'

Frustrated by her lack of discipline, the slender kendoka took a deep, relaxing breath. Glancing at the digital clock overhead she sighed. It would soon be time to meet up with Ranma, er, Ranko for his, no, her, lunch break.

After such a rigorous sparring session Motoko knew that she'd need to clean up before they met up for lunch. Grabbing her borrowed equipment she headed down to the girls' locker room.

# # # # #

"I can't believe that that jerk isn't around to help clean up his mess!" an irate Akane Tendo proclaimed as she hammered a nail into the wooden board. With the family dojo virtually destroyed in the failed wedding debacle, each of the residents of the Tendo compound were lending a hand (or paw) in the repairs – well, everyone but Ranma who was conveniently missing.

"It's not his fault Akane," Soun grumbled. "It appears as though whatever phenomenon that has pulled him away from us is not of his doing, though those magi are still investigating."

"And at least we have some help," Nabiki stated as she watched the others work.

'_Man, I can't believe I got wrangled into this_,' the runty young man thought as he hammered a nail into place. '_First he wrecks the Hinata Sou, now I have to help him fix up his fiancée's dojo_.'

Behind him the kendoka eyed the stacks of uncut wood. Gripping the hilt of her katana she quickly drew the blade. Though her blade never touched the wood, the untreated wood suddenly flew into the air before falling into place as cleanly cut wooden boards.

'_At least I'm not the only one who got wrangled into this_,' Keitaro Urashima lamented.

"Your skill with the sword is remarkable," Genma said, praising the young Shinmeiryu swordswoman.

Motoko offered a polite bow as she sheathed her blade, "Thank you."

Though she said little, Motoko couldn't help but feel a bit responsible for Ranma's recent disappearance. After all he had rushed to pull her out of her own room when the strange symbol now scorched into her desk had glowed. The least she could do was make up for Ranma's absence by helping to repair his fiancée's dojo.

"Um, Auntie Nodoka," the runty dorm manager said as the polite and very formal woman arrived with some drinks, "what happened here?"

The normally polite woman simply smiled, "We tried to have Ranma and Akane's wedding here."

Motoko blinked. '_Tried?_'

"Tried?" Naru asked as she set her hammer down and eyed the damaged building.

"Ranma has many rivals," Nodoka stated. "He is a man amongst men after all, and being such he had unfortunately drawn the attention of lesser men who want what is his, as well as the attention of women who desire a man amongst men."

Keitaro blinked.

"You could stand to take some lessons from him," Naru teased. "It seems like your cousin is very smooth with the women."

"Hey!" he cried out indignantly.

"He's a master martial artist," the proud woman stated.

Motoko perked up as she heard this. "What style do you practice?" she asked the rather rotund and clearly bald man that was Genma Saotome.

"The Saotome School of Musabetsu Katuto Ryu Martial Arts," Genma stated proudly.

"'Musabetsu Katuto Ryu'?" Naru repeated. "Like Jeet Kune Do?"

Pushing his glasses up Genma glanced at the auburn haired girl. "Similar in theory I guess in that both styles take parts from other styles and schools, though ultimately Jeet Kune Do is designed to allow the individual fighter to choose a style that best works for the individual. Our style incorporates the strengths of other styles and schools into one ultimate style that focuses on not revealing our style or movements. It's designed to also be adaptable rather than just following the standard forms, stances, and patterns that other styles use."

Motoko nodded. As an expert martial artist herself she knew the differences between the two schools without having to be told the specifics. Still, it, like Jeet Kune Do, was an upstart school lacking the generations and centuries of tradition that the Shinmeiryu had.

"No wonder he beat you two so easily," Keitaro exclaimed. Both Naru and Motoko blushed.

"He didn't beat me!" the auburn haired girl exclaimed.

"What?" Akane shouted. "He's left to pick fights with girls now!"

Soun turned to face the three Hinata Sou residents. "You encountered Ranma?"

Motoko nodded even as she noted how the middle Tendo sibling tried to physically restrain her enraged sibling.

"Keitaro called me last night," Nodoka explained. "Apparently there is a portal connecting the two worlds in the Hinata Sou as well as the ones that they believe are in Nerima. He seemed to startle them and rather than fighting them he simply subdued them long enough to get Keitaro to call me."

"Humph," Akane exclaimed as she shrugged of Nabiki. "I guess they're not that good then – Ranma can't subdue me at all."

Keitaro had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. '_This isn't good_.'

X X X X X

The open windows allowed the gentle fall breeze into the stuffy and dusty room. Though the seldom used classroom was small, it would be perfect for the make-up math exams as there were only a handful of students taking those tests.

Mentally mapping out the room Ryu Saotome began to walk down the isles of desks, setting the tests face down on every forth desk, spacing them so that each student would have at least one desk between them and their closest neighbor. After three more passes down the isles he had finished setting all the tests down.

Returning to the front of the classroom he pulled out the dry erase marker and drew out the seating chart so that even a simple minded military otaku like Souseke Sagara could find his seat.

X X X X X

The sound of distant bells ringing filled the small, empty campus as the clock tower several blocks from campus sounded with thirteen separate but sequential gongs and the smaller chimes and bells that accompanied the large bell.

The morning's entrance exams were merely a precursor to the gathered students as they each had been accepted into Jindai High, but in Japan were proper form and procedure were very important everyone was forced to take the exam. And for the handful of students that were transferring in mid-term the make-up exams were just as important as they signified that the potential students were capable of keeping up with their new respective peers, especially since the two students were transferring in from abroad.

Normally the test would have been administered in a separate room, but due to the small number of regular students who were absent during the scheduled mid-term exams the administration had decided to integrate the perspective students in with their peers early, allowing them to take the mid-term exams with the handful of regular students that needed to make up those missed exams.

Stealing a glance at the petit yet busty redhead that was sitting in the spot assigned to the mysterious Ranko Mitsurugi the blond smiled as he flipped over his exam paper.

Math was easy. As a sniper he had to factor in distance, angle, wind velocity, and other factors into each shot. Though the various equations and formulas were hard for a typical teenager, Kurtz was far from typical.

Breezing through the twenty five questions, each worth up to four points each – three points for using the right formulas and equations and one point for getting the right answer – for a total of 100 points, Kurtz glanced up at the clock. He had twenty minutes left, more than enough time to steal glances at the cute and mysterious redhead, and even a few more at his teammate Sagara.

Though both individuals were seated behind him the sniper had his own tricks. The special non-glare mirror lens he'd stuck to the desk before him allowed him to sneak discreet glances at the pretty redhead seated two seats back and to his right, once he got the angles right with the thin wires he'd attached to let him adjust the angles.

A gentle tug from his left hand shifted the mirror, allowing him to see down the low cut and loose blouse that was the girl's uniform. Unlike most girls who wore a tight blouse over a neutral colored bra it soon became clear to the voyeur that the redhead wasn't wearing bra. This was obvious because she wasn't wearing a tight top and each time she leaned forward and over her papers her low cut top dipped down, allowing the blond a good view of her bare breasts.

Curious, and slightly aroused, he realized that Ranko Mitsurugi wasn't sitting like other girls either. Since they were all required to wear skirts most tended to sit with their legs pressed together, but the daring redhead had her legs spread.

The bells rang once more, signaling the end of the math exam, and the end to the first hour of the afternoon exams.

"Ten minute break," the raven haired teacher that was overseeing the exams declared. "Make sure you're back before 10 after or else you'll be locked out of the rest of the exams."

The handful of students quickly sprang out of their seats, eager to stretch or for the fresh air.

"Hey Sagara," Kurtz said as he walked towards the only friendly face he knew.

"Kurtz," the scarred boy said by way of greeting.

Sagara's brow arched as he noted the blond planting another mirror on the desk as they walked out of the room.

"I don't know why I didn't transfer here sooner," the blond smirked. "The girls here are total babes."

"What was that?"

Before the blond could even think a cardboard tube made contact with his head, thumping him ever so ungently, though not enough to break or even bend the tube.

"Kaname Chidori," the blond said with a smile. "Long time no see."

"Hiya Kurtz," the peppy smaller girl beside the busty teal haired girl said. "Your Japanese has really improved."

"Ms. Tokiwa," Kurtz said as he smiled for the smaller girl's camera, "I've been studying since I knew I was coming back to Japan."

"So you're not here to sight see?" the perceptive girl asked.

"No, I'm going to be a student now," Kurtz stated.

"So how do you know Sagara?"

"We've crossed paths before," the stoic scarred boy stated. "I've traveled to a lot of countries in my youth and ran into Kurtz while in Italy. We've kept up correspondence since then, though it was only recently that he expressed a desire to return to Japan."

"Yes," Kurtz said, annunciating the word so that his German accent was much more noticeable. "I had visited several times before when Sousuke was on break, but now I'm going to be a student here."

The sniper exchanged knowing glances with both Kaname and Sousuke. Hopefully their ruse would be enough to fool Kaname's perceptive best friend.

X X X X X

Refreshed from their respective showers Motoko and Ryoko sat in an empty classroom as they waited for Ranko. Though she only had ten minutes between exams the two girls knew that the energetic gender cursed martial artist couldn't sit still for too long.

Silence filled the room as the two best friends failed to find the right words to say to each other as they waited for their companion.

"Your technique seemed off today," Motoko stated as she tried to break the pregnant silence.

"As did yours," Ryoko replied.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?" they both said at the same time.

Blinking, they mirrored each others' actions before laughing.

"You like him, don't you," Ryoko stated.

The slender girl simply nodded. "And you?"

The busty kendoka nodded.

"So what are we going to do?" Motoko asked.

"Fight for him? Not with swords, but like what normal girls do when they like the same guy," Ryoko stated.

"Normal," the slender kendoka sighed. "But he's definitely not normal. And he's engaged."

"But he's not there, he's here," the busty kendoka countered.

"We don't even know if he likes either of us."

"We don't know if he even likes her."

Both girls smiled as they looked at each other.

"I guess we can't get away from being rivals," Motoko stated.

"I guess we can't."

"I won't lose."

"Neither will I."

Both girls stood up as they spotted Ranko approaching the empty classroom they were in.

"Yo," the petite redhead said by way of greeting.

"Hey," the other girls replied.

"Why so glum?" Ryoko asked as she noted the odd look on the shorter girl's face.

"Some creep was stealing glances at me during the exam," Ranko replied. "I was debating if I should just clock him over the head during the break but I guess he's got friends at this school."

Motoko glanced at Ryoko then at Ranma. "You should stand up for yourself, but try not to draw too much attention to yourself."

Ranko straightened up as she looked at the taller girl. "Huh? Why?"

"Guys get away with shit like that all the time here," Ryoko stated.

Ranko sighed, "So much for the 'advanced society' and women's rights."

"This isn't America or Canada," Ryoko replied.

"Japan doesn't have many strong, independent woman," Motoko stated. "But even the most respected and influential women are objectified. Though this district of Tokyo is supposedly more liberal, there are still guys who get away with a lot of stuff. That's why girls here travel in packs."

"Safety in numbers," Ranko grumbled. He was really starting to hate this fucked up world. "So why don't you go to school here?"

"I will be," Motoko replied. "Jindai's very exclusive, and last year when I applied they didn't have enough openings so I had to go to St. Bacchus School for Girls instead. The only reason we've been allowed in now is because there are a few openings once the school starts up after the mid-term break. Something about the parents of some kids not thinking that the school was safe anymore."

Ranko's brow arched at the news.

"Ever since this military otaku came here he's been terrorizing the school," Ryoko stated. "When the second years went on their class trip to Okinawa their plane was hijacked and flow into a hostile and independent country. Then there were a few incidents where the school was shut down because of mysterious explosions that destroyed parts of the school or the campus. There was also the incident where the janitor appeared to have gone crazy and tore up the school a few months back. Not to mention that the military otaku tends to sneak fake guns onto school grounds and threatens people with them."

"Looks like you've got to get back to your exams," Motoko stated as she looked up at the clock.

Ranko sighed.

"Don't do anything that'll draw attention to yourself," Ryoko advised as the shorter redhead turned around.

Waving casually, Ranko considered the advice.

X X X X X

The first thing that the observant soldier noticed as he sat back down in his assigned desk was that the mirrors were gone. Though he was sure that Kurtz had hidden the special lenses out of the sight of Mr. Saotome's keen eyes, Sousuke couldn't spot the tiny lenses.

The blond sniper had clearly noticed it as well as he stole a sideways glance at him.

Before either could say or do anything the bell chimed, signaling the start of the written portion of the literature exam.

# # # # #

A/N

Sorry, this probably isn't the place to mention this, but why is it that many Ranma fics out there make it so that Ranma can't change back into a guy whenever the cursed female form has its period? Yes, the hormone imbalance could wreck havoc with Ranma, but clearly he's screwed up enough as it is and hormones (or the lack there of) clearly aren't affecting him when he changes from one form to the other. Forcing Ranma to stay a girl because his cursed form has a period is actually kinda lame.

Honestly, if he did have those or had to endure staying a girl until his period was over I'm sure he'd be searching for a cure much harder than he was at the end of the manga. If Ranma had to endure a period than he might sympathize more with the girls in the series, but he clearly doesn't sympathize with them other than to see them as girls. The problem with Ranma is that even when he's a girl he sees things from a guy's perspective, though he'll act the part of a girl or indulge in what he things girls should indulge in, he is essentially a boy in a girl's body and plays at being a girl.

Just my two cents.

Dreamingfox


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes –

Thanks for all the input, especially from the Fanfiction Forum guys (and gals).

My bad, it's supposed to be 'Kurz' not 'Krutz' or 'Kurtz'.

X X X X X

There was only so much that Ranma could take. First they'd enrolled him into this school even though he wanted desperately to return home. True, he really didn't know how he could get back home especially since no one knew how the portals worked or what triggered them. Then there was the whole bit with the girls in this world having to wear skirts as part of their school uniforms and the fact that he had to attend the school as a girl.

But this, this was the last straw.

"Just stay still," Ryoko urged.

"No!" the pigtailed boy declared as he ran from the girls. Despite being trapped in relatively small room Ranma was proving that it was very hard to catch him when he didn't want to be caught.

"Come back here!" Motoko cried out as she tried to cut Ranma off as he scrambled away from Ryoko. Unfortunately the young martial arts master was a master for a reason. Leaping over her with casual grace he avoided her attempt to catch him.

"Would you just stay still!" Kanako shouted as she guarded the window, effectively keeping the pigtailed boy from exiting that way.

"You're not cutting my hair!" the currently male Ranma declared as he clung to the high ceiling. "You're not dying my hair or anything else either!"

Tsuruko stood in the doorway to the room, scowling as the three younger fighters tried to corral and capture the elusive martial artist. Though the Hinata Sou was still being repaired there were still enough rooms for half of the residents, unfortunately Ranma and company would still have to stay at the Tendo compound until all the repairs were complete as Motoko, Ryoko, and Kanako's rooms had all suffered minor damages in the raid.

Still, the return to the Hinata Sou had allowed Ranma to turn back into his true form, though the idea of having his hair cut and dyed was not sitting well with him.

"If you want to go around town as a boy than you're going to have to change the way you look," the elder swordswoman stated. "Either lose the pigtail or dye your hair."

"Never!" the young martial artist shouted back as he reached for one of the secret passages through the ceiling of the room.

"There's a secret passage up there?" Motoko asked as she realized just what he was doing.

"Give me a boost," Ryoko suggested as she stood beneath Ranma.

"You do know that if you cut my hair in this form it's going to affect my other form," Ranma stated as he removed the ceiling panel.

"Wait," Happosai said, stopping all the commotion even though Ranma still clung to the ceiling. "I guess we failed to realize that aspect of your curse. Come down here and let's talk this out like reasonable men."

Ranma scowled at the ancient master, "Only if you stop groping me."

Happosai rubbed his ancient chin as he considered the terms, "Fine."

Still unsure of if he could really trust the old pervert Ranma looked at the faces of the girls below.

"We've even picked up your boxers, and clothes for your male form," Tsuruko added.

Sighing, he returned the ceiling panel to its rightful place before dropping down to the floor. "You do notice that my hair style stays the same regardless of which form I'm in, right?"

"Really?" Happosai exclaimed. "I guess I just noticed…" he cupped his hands and squeezed.

Ranma shivered, needing no further explaination.

"We still don't know what triggers the portals," Tsuruko stated as she tossed the package of boy's clothes at Ranma. "Eishun is researching the symbol though. Once he finds something he'll let us know."

"Where are the markers?" Ranma insisted.

"The one in Motoko's room of course," Happosai stated. "And the one on the banks of the canal in Nerima is the only other one that seems to have been active recently. All the others appear to be dormant."

"Wait, how do you know they're dormant?" the pigtailed boy asked.

"We're not detecting any magical energy from it," Eishun stated as he stepped out from behind the sliding door. "There doesn't appear to be any pattern to where they're placed."

"And where are they placed?" Ranma asked.

A casual wave of the mage's hand revealed a map with glowing markers where the symbols were located.

"That's the park with the water fountain," the pigtailed boy stated. "It's the park where I usually get ambushed by my rivals."

"Rivals?" Tsuruko asked.

"Yeah," the pigtailed boy explained. "I've got a few fiancées."

The three younger girls blinked. _'A few fiancées?_'

"And they've each got a couple of guys that like them and think that the easiest way to win over that fiancée is to defeat me or something of that sort."

The three girls exchanged knowing glances.

"He said that a bit too casually," Kanako whispered to the other girls.

"Yeah," Ryoko replied.

Motoko nodded in agreement.

"That's Ukyo's restaurant," he pointed to another location, completely ignoring the talking girls. "I guess she doesn't have a restaurant here since I'm probably not engaged to here in this world."

Again the three girls looked at each other. Kanako couldn't help but suppress a smile.

"So, what's there now?" Ranma asked.

"A love hotel," Tsuruko replied.

Motoko and Ranma stiffened.

"It's a sushi bar," Eishun corrected.

Ranma and Motoko relaxed, though the pigtailed boy glanced at the mirthful elder Aoyama daughter.

"That's the ice cream place that always gives me extra portions," Ranma said with as smile as he focused on the map.

"Extra portions?" Kanako asked.

"Yeah, I go as a girl and sweat talk the guys behind the counter into giving me extra portions," the pigtailed boy boasted. "That's the bakery where I get all the fudge brownies. And that's the place where I get pork dumplings."

"I think I'm starting to see a trend," Eishun stated.

"What, that Ranma gets a lot of free food?" Kanako asked.

"Places that Ranma was known to frequent," the mage replied. "At least in his world, but why would they be here in this world?"

"So does that mean he frequents Motoko's room?" Ryoko asked.

Instinctively Ranma backpedaled as he put his hands up before him, "It ain't like that!"

Motoko's siblings looked at him, then at their sister, then back at him.

"I just met her yesterday! Honest!"

Everyone stared at him.

"She was investigating the weird energies from my first jump," Ranma explained. "And after I jumped back you" he pointed at Eishun "were looking into it as well."

"Wait, Motoko was investigating it in your world as well?" Eishun asked.

The pigtailed youth nodded. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure," the mage replied.

# # # # #

Nabiki was surprised. Having seen her sister fight against the Amazon bimbo and the gender confused cook the middle Tendo had thought she'd seen the best female fighters of her generation. Clearly she'd overestimated their ability. This girl, Motoko, of the Shinmeiryu, was clearly in a league of her own – that or Akane really sucked.

Though she practiced the family style the middle Tendo only did it to stay in shape. Watching her sister get trounced was humbling.

It had started out with both girls simply standing a steps away from each other, hands virtually touching as they faced off. Suddenly Motoko swung, connecting with a punch to Akane's stomach.

Not one to allow her opponent to stay on the offensive Akane had rushed in with a swift middle kick then followed up with a return swing from the same leg. The slender Motoko didn't even bother dodging the first attack, blocking and then capturing Akane's leg then answering with a kick to the now off-balance Akane's stomach.

Neither Tendo had expected the kendoka to actually use kicks. Clearly this girl wasn't anything like Kuno.

Getting back to her feet Akane tried to shrug off the blow before charging in once again. This time she led with a fierce straight karate punch to the face. Using basic karate she hoped to surprise her opponent by limiting the reaction time between her punches. Unfortunately that strategy failed as Motoko leaned to the side to avoid the first punch and batted aside the second one before connecting with a stiff punch to the stomach that doubled Akane over.

Shrugging off the blow Akane stood up. Channeling her rage she rushed in with a fling jump kick that forced the taller girl to duck. Rebounding off the wall Akane connected with a kick to Motoko's face, knocking the other girl over. Not satisfied with just the kick the short haired girl followed up with a elbow smash to the other girl's face only to be stopped by a kick from the downed girl. A second kick to the face combined with a sweeping kick knocked Akane over.

Scrambling to their feet, Motoko was the first to stand.

Ever the aggressor though Akane charged in with a wild left cross that Motoko was forced to block. But the attack was a feint as Akane grabbed hold of the other girl's hair with her right hand. A stiff knee to the stomach doubled over the slender girl before a knee to the face knocked Motoko down once again. Stomping down on her fallen opponent Akane was once again kicked in the stomach, knocking her back but not off her feet, allowing Motoko to get back to her feet.

Charging in with a wild right punch, Akane was surprised when Motoko caught her wrist and stepped into her guard before getting hit with an elbow to the face. A series of stiff kicks to the stomach, face, stomach and face dazed the youngest Tendo even as the air was knocked out of her lungs.

"Enough," Soun cried out.

"You should have stopped it sooner," someone else said.

"Cologne," Nabiki said coolly.

"Is this another challenger to the dojo or is this another fiancée?" the elder Amazon asked.

"She's here investigating Ranma's disappearance," auburn haired girl declared.

"Oh, why would outsiders care about what goes on in Nerima?" Cologne asked.

"Because Ranma's my cousin," the runty dorm manager stated. "We may not be close but he came to me for help."

It was a lie, but it was partially true – Ranma had asked Keitaro to call his mom.

Though Ranma was the prize, seeing the meddling tom-boy being put into her place was always good, but this new girl, she was formidable. Still, if Ranma were gone, which all reports indicated, than she and Shampoo would need to find out where he had gone and how to get him back. "How can we help?"

# # # # #

"Don't lie to me worm!" Kuno said as he pinned the scrawny Gosunkugi to the wall.

"I got rid of Ranma Saotome," the frightened teen stated boldly.

"How?" the myopic Mousse asked as he put a hand on Kuno's wooden sword, prompting the other fighter to lower the captive boy.

"Magic," Gosunkugi replied.

"And he'll stay gone?" Ryoga asked.

The tiny boy nodded.

"There's no chance of him returning?" Mousse asked.

Hikaru paused.

"There is, isn't there?" Mousse said as he put on his glasses.

"That's why I called you all here," the runty teen stated. "I need your help to keep him from coming back."

X X X X X

Looking into the mirror Ranma smiled, clearly savoring the look that he had managed to pull off.

"How much mousse did you use?" the busty kendoka asked the lithe girl.

"Too much," Kanako replied.

"I like it," the spiky haired boy stated as he turned his head. Clearly all he wanted was to see that the look was essentially on the mark.

"Where'd he say he got this look from?" Motoko asked her companions.

"Some manga called 'Dragon Ball Z'," Kanako answered.

Yes, Ranma was pleased. The spiky hair that emulated the style of hair that the two greatest Super Sayans used was now his. Though he'd tried to get his hair to look like this before he'd never had any luck back in his world – yes, the technology in this world had allowed him to attain Sayan style hair. Who knew it only took several gallons of bleach to get his hair light enough to dye blond? And it didn't even irritate him as much as it did back in his world. Hell, he'd even managed to bleach and then dye all of his hair – all of his hair.

"Just how many curses did you have?" Tsuruko asked as she looked at the now blond Ranma even as she curled the dragon whisker in her hand.

"Two," Ranma stated, flexing as though he were trying to achieve Level 2. Behind him the girls blushed or looked away.

"And this second one wore off?" Kanako asked. As the only girl not affected by Ranma's physique she seemed to be the only one capable of talking to him at the moment.

"Something like that," Ranma replied as he put on silky blue shirt. "Shouldn't we get back to the Tendo's?"

The amused elder swordswoman nodded. "But there's no way in hell you're going like that."

Ranma blinked. "But I just got my hair to look like this!"

"Too bad," Kanako sighed as she effortlessly bopped him in the back of the head so that she could dunk his face into a bowl of cool water.

Had Happosai been present he would have shouted gleefully at the sight of the busty redhead's bare breasts.

Not even bothering to throw his head back the now female Ranma allowed the other girls to take his shirt off before he stood up, lamenting the temporary loss of his Super Sayan hair.

"At least we know dying my hair won't do anything," Ranko stated.

"Actually," Kanako observed, "I think your hair is a brighter red now."

Ryoko leaned her head to the side, "I think it's just the lighting."

"No," Motoko shook her head, "it is brighter now."

Ranko shrugged as she dunked her head into the basin of cool water, washing out the mousse.

"You know," Tsuruko said, cutting in, "you probably should cover up."

"Why?" the petite redhead asked as she dried her scalp.

"While most of us at the Hinata Sou are fairly open minded, there are those who would leer at such a display," the elegant swordswoman stated.

"Sorry, I'm a guy," Ranma replied, "I ain't got no feminine modesty."

"It's not about being modest," Motoko interjected, "it's about the signals that you're sending people."

"Yeah, Konatsu thinks you're a lesbian," Kanako added.

"Why," the shorter girl asked, "just because I wear pants outside of school?"

The lithe girl nodded. "He thinks you and Ryoko…"

"What's wrong if I like girls?" he asked, completely missing the fact that Ryoko was blushing and Motoko was glaring at the busty kendoka. "Besides, why would his opinion matter to me?"

Seeing the blank looks on the other girls faces Ranko sighed. Opening his mouth to speak, Ranko suddenly decided that it wasn't his secret to share. Besides, they only knew this Konatsu, not the cross-dressing boy playing at being a kunoichi. Why taint their image of him with knowledge of what he turned out like in the other world?

Shrugging, he buttoned up the silk shirt.

"Anyways," Motoko said, "the way you act you practically invite boys to, well, assume that they can get something from you."

Ranma blinked. "Huh?"

"What did you used to do to get food in your Nerima?" Kanako asked, trying to clarify Ranma's actions.

"Don't all girls do that?" he retorted.

The three younger girls shook their heads.

"No, we don't do that," Tsuruko stated. "Such behavior invites lewd behavior from men. They see your actions of cozying up to them as an exchange of favors."

Ranko's brow arched as she considered what the older woman was saying. "So they're expecting…" Suddenly Ranma's mind clicked. He'd never really thought of it that way.

Seeing the realization in his eyes Tsuruko nodded. "Men like Tatewaki Kuno are the norm, not the exception. Though few have the power, money, and influence that he has, many others act the same way."

Ranko nodded. He knew that, but it never really clicked until now. Yes, the difference between knowing and realizing was that vast. Shivers ran up and down Ranko's spine as he considered his first encounter with Motoko and how he'd to save her from Tatewaki Kuno.

The more he thought about it, the more he hated this world.

X X X X X

"They're what?" Tatewaki shouted as he glared at his minions.

"Motoko Aoyama is staying at the Tendo compound," the vice-captain of the second year students stated. "She's accompanied by Kanako Urashima, Ryoko Mitsurugi and Ranko Mitsurugi."

Though school was currently out due to the make-up exams, the kendo team still met and practiced. Their embarrassing defeat the other night by the unknown boy who claimed to be Ranma Saotome had at least been minimized by the fact that no one outside of the Nerima Guardians had borne witness to the events of that night.

But this was a chance to reclaim his lost prize. And if that cursed Ranma Saotome should show up it would be a chance for revenge.

"Guardians!" Kuno shouted as he stood up. "We go on the hunt tonight! Fine prey worthy of our time shall be entering our territory soon. Let us welcome them with open arms."

# # # # #

Focusing all her anger and frustration the youngest Tendo daughter stood before the practice dummy. A swift 1-2-3 combo rocked the wooden construct, sending a few stray splinters off as the lightning quick fists connected with the head of the dummy.

For the longest time she'd lived with the belief that she was the best martial artist of her generation, then Ranma arrived. He'd quickly put her in her place as he nimbly dodged her attacks the first night they had met, though he hadn't avoided the table. His arrival though compounded the fact that not only was he better, but many of his rivals were better than she was, though most of them simply held back because she was a girl.

Still, Akane had prided herself as being the best female martial artist of her generation. But that had been brutally disproven as an unarmed kendoka had defeated her. True, the girl wasn't as good as Ranma, but she was better than Akane. That only meant that Ranma was also holding back whenever he sparred against her and that he allowed himself to get hit whenever she threw an angry punch or kick or mallet at him.

Was he really that much better than her? Was she really that far behind him? Couldn't she handle a fight by herself without Ranma having to come save her?

Feeling her bruised ribs she clutched at the injury. _'Apparently not.'_

# # # # #

The sound of metal snapping rang in Kuno's keen ears even as the weight in his hand lightened. Clearly the magical symbols that the runty coward Gosunkugi had used to banish Ranma Saotome hinted at a potent magic spell. Having ruined several blades already Kuno wondered just how he could destroy the symbol and prevent Ranma from returning via that gateway. Knowing the other incompetent fools, they were probably having similar if not worse setbacks.

# # # # #

Ryoga was lost. While it was nothing new it was rather annoying, especially as he was supposed to destroy something. True, he'd been given the easiest one to find and destroy.

"Just walk along the canal," he mumbled as he scanned the ground for a cinder block.

X X X X X

He was lost. Though it wasn't new it was annoying. Pulling out his cell phone the boy activated the GPS feature.

Even without the GPS he had a faint idea of where he was, but not necessarily why he was there. "The canal?" he mumbled as he noted that he was at least still in Nerima.

Looking around he glanced at the scenery, noting the sun as it set behind the buildings to the western bank of the canal.

"You there!" someone shouted, waking the young man up from his daze. "Get away from there – it's not safe!"

Though his head was slightly hazy, the young man nodded as he walked up the western bank. Why did this seem familiar?

X X X X X

Having only traveled through Tokyo proper, or Metro Tokyo, Kurz wasn't sure what to make of this particular ward or district of Tokyo. Every he'd traveled to before had been lively and energetic, but Nerima, well, it was dark and gloomy.

"Why are we here again?" the blond asked.

"We're here to check out Kuno Industries," Melissa stated. "Sagara's seller informed him that they recently purchased two dozen of his Bonta-kun miniature AS models."

"Isn't that like insider trading or something?" the Japanese born German sniper asked.

"Actually," Sagara cut in, "the son of Kuno Industries' owner bought them for his personal collection."

"Do you think that they're the ones that attacked the Martial Arts Alliance people?" Kurz asked.

"I'm not sure," Sousuke replied. "But this is where the largest shipment was delivered inside of Japan. Most of the weapons they bought were the non-lethal type that was used in the assault yesterday, so it is possible that they were behind the attack."

"Wait, there's a lethal arsenal for them as well?" the young sniper asked.

"Affirmative."

"And you expect me to be able to take out one of those with just my just a WA2000?

"If anyone can make the shot you can."

"Thanks," the blond grumbled. "So where do I hit them?"

"You have to hit them right on the nose," the scarred battle veteran stated. "That will disable the voice changer, which will shut down the Operating System."

"That's it?" Mao asked.

"Affirmative."

"No wonder those things didn't sell well," Kurz teased.

"Affirmative, the AS Bonta-kun won't work with another Operating System and the system won't operate without an active voice changer."

"Still, it is a head shot," the sniper groused. "A near miss of the voice box would probably kill the pilot."

"Affirmative."

X X X X X

Leonard snapped awake, completely unaware of the fact that he'd taken a brief nap. He hated those incidents. Unlike normal people, he didn't dream. No, his mind constantly processed information, thus the reason why he often hooked himself up to the computer so that he could record his thoughts.

Recently though he'd begun to laps, taking the occasional afternoon nap. As a growing teen it wasn't unusual for him to sometimes nod off, though it did annoy him. What of all the lost equations or inventions that he'd missed recording?

Irritated at himself he glanced at Sophia's monitor.

"Ranma Saotome," he mumbled. "So Sophia has chosen you to be her host."

X X X X X

"Man, I can't wait to get back to the Hinata Sou," Ranko grumbled as the petit redhead walked beside her companions. Having grown used to either roof-hopping or walking the fences it was torturous for him to walk beside the taller girls on the ground.

"Konatsu still thinks you're a lesbian," Kanako teased.

"So? I do like girls."

Motoko and Ryoko blushed.

X X X X X

A/N

I hope that this helps answer some of the speculation and doubts about the fic. Unfortunately, there are still more questions to be answered.

Dreamingfox


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Notes –

Seems I've been writing a lot for this fic lately. I have to admit, it's kind of consumed me. I've been writing bits and segments for my other fics, but in the end I always come back to this one. Odd.

Please Read and Review.

X X X X X

"We've got movement," Kurz stated as he spotted several of Sagara's creations moving. "They're headed out the western gate."

"This is too blatant," Melissa stated. "They're not even hiding themselves."

"A decoy?" Sagara asked as he focused on the man leading the small army of Bonta-kun Arm Slaves.

"Maybe," Sergeant Major Melissa replied. "This is Urzu-2. We have a visual on a squad of the miniature Arm Slaves."

X X X X X

As a fully trained mage Eishun could easily detect the ebb and flow of the magical energies around him. Though he couldn't quantify the amounts he could tell when the energies were at their most powerful and when they were weakest. In truth it was a lot like the magic of the World Tree in that the symbols collected certain types of magical energy and then released it, though only Ranma seemed to be affected by the portals.

Clearly there was someone in Ranma's native world that had wanted him gone, but who? Was the other Eishun looking into that as well, and had he made the same connection? More importantly, who was the one on this side who was making the symbols and why? Did someone on this side want Ranma as badly as someone on the other side wanted to get rid of Ranma?

X X X X X

Leonard smirked as he watched Tatewaki Kuno lead his gang. If not for the survalliance cameras that he'd set up along the banks of the canal in Nerima he'd have missed the arrogant Kuno heir's attempts to capture the Shinmeiryu heir and her companions.

"Get me Mr. Grey," the silver-grey haired youth stated as he slammed his hand on the com. "Tell him it's time we pull all our resources out of KI."

X X X X X

"I've got movement!" Kurz announced over the com. "Two dozen Bonta-kun units and another two dozen armed fighters."

"This is Urzu-2; requesting orders!"

X X X X X

Ranma was excited. He could almost feel the power of the symbol as the quintet of fighters approached the canal in Nerima. "This is the one that I came from," the petit redhead explained to the others.

"This was the one I felt the energy coming from when I came to inspect the odd energy," Motoko added with a nod.

"Why'd you come alone?" Ryoko asked as she noticed that the streets of Nerima appeared to be fairly empty. All around them people were looking at them as the group passed by the various gated yards.

"Something doesn't feel right," Keitaro stated.

Kanako nodded. "We're just inside the territory of the Nerima Guardians – people here don't go out much unless it's to leave the Guardian's turf. Once we cross the canal we'll really be in their turf."

Unconsciously Motoko gripped the hilt of her blade.

Normally the sight of several large cuddly teddy bears wouldn't have inspired the residents of Nerima to flee. Normally, though this Nerima was vastly different from the Nerima Ranma knew. And the large cuddly teddy bears were anything but friendly if he remembered correctly. Doors and windows that were once open were quickly shutting as residents barricaded themselves in the safety of their homes.

"Run," he advised trio of girls and his cousin. "Get to the other side of the canal and head straight for the Tendos'."

Kanako nodded, leading the others away. Turning the corner Ranma noted the closed and barred doors and windows. Rushing to the closest building he barged in. Ignoring the screams of protest from the family that he'd just barged in on Ranko grabbed a cup of hot water. Running back out of the house he stripped off his shirt before splashing himself with the water. The instantaneous transformation from busty redheaded girl to now bleach blond boy was barely noticed as the father of the family slammed the door close.

Two quick bounds was all he needed to get to the roof. Three seconds was all he needed to see that the girls were headed into a trap. Leaping from roof top to roof top he closed the distance between himself and the girls in a matter of moments.

"They've already got people on the bridge," Ranma stated as he hopped over their heads. "You're going to have to swim."

As the fastest of the three girls Kanako nodded even as she led the other two down another alley. Neither girl questioned her as the Urashima had spent the most time in Nerima.

"What do we do?" Keitaro asked as he scrambled up to the roof opposite of Ranma.

"We make sure that the girls get to the Tendos'."

"So you're not going to go home?" the older boy asked.

Ranma shook his head. "It's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak."

"We're not weak," Keitaro countered.

Ranma shrugged as he leapt to another roof. "You're not weak, but you're not up to taking on these odds."

"Why not head for the shop?" the older boy asked.

"Shop?"

"My parents own a business just outside the edge of the Guardian's territory," Keitaro explained.

"It doesn't look like anyone's going to try and help today," Ranma shrugged. "Still, it would have been nice to know before I sent them off. Is there anything else I should know about the area?"

"Probably not," Keitaro replied. Running hard he somehow managed to keep up with the quicker Ranma. "Here," he said as he tossed a sheathed combat knife.

The nimble young martial artist snatched the blade out of the air even as he heard the sound of a shot gun being fired.

'_I hate this world!'_

X X X X X

"Observe but do not engage," Kalinin said clearly. This was getting messy enough as it was. "SRT Team 2 ready to deploy."

X X X X X

Despite the small size of the encampment the violet haired young woman couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed. Not only had this male managed to sneak into the camp past the supposedly highly trained guardsmen, but he was standing in the center of the encampment unchallenged. Though she was not officially a soldier, the young woman knew that soon it would be her time to join the ranks and hopefully quickly advance just as many of her proud sisters had done.

Though the Amazons were a proud people, they had been forced to ally with the Musk Tribe as well as the Phoenix Clan as they fought to free China from the Communist movement that had tried to put down those three proud peoples. As a warrior culture they each excelled within the ranks of the Democratic Chinese Alliance's armed forces.

Yet for this foreigner to slip into her camp, that was a blight on her ability as a possible commander and leader of troops as well as on the guards who had failed to stop him.

"I come here seeking a woman," the muscular man stated in perfect Cantonese.

"Women are everywhere," the violet haired beauty stated. "Why come here unless you seek your own death?"

"I seek the strongest woman here," the man stated as he threw down the camp's strongest fighter and best candidate for an Arm Slave Pilot – Mao Xu.

"You've just signed your death warrant," the woman stated, waving to the young prospective soldiers. As one the fifteen guardsmen raised their rifles and took aim at the man.

"I assume that the strongest woman in this camp than is you," the stranger stated. "I challenge you for the right to claim you as my mate."

Despite their leader's orders the guardsmen lowered their weapons. Though they were all training to be soldiers, the young fighters still respected their culture. A challenge like this could not be ignored nor could they interfere.

"I am Xian Pu, and I accept your challenge!" Grabbing a pair of daggers she leapt into the clearing at the center of the camp.

Flipping the blade in her left hand so that she had a reverse grip she slashed, used the feint to set up the subsequent follow up stab with her right should the man try to block or step back.

Yet somehow he saw through her attack, stepping into the attack and blocking with his right even as he stopped the blade in her right hand by catching the naked blade. A vicious head-butt filled the violet haired girl's vision with stars.

Blinking away the stars she looked up at the man. The taste of iron filled her mouth even as the scent of freshly drawn blood filled her nostrils.

'No!' she thought as she tried to force herself to get back to her feet. 'I've been defeated!'

"You'll give me strong children," the man stated as he bent over and grabbed hold of her green and red silk blouse. Lifting her up, he threw her over his shoulder, claiming her like a prize.

X X X X X

"Observe, do not engage," Mao shouted, letting her subordinates know even as she checked her monitors. "I repeat – observe, do not engage. Team two is ready to be deployed."

Kurz cursed as he gazed through his gun sight. "That's Motoko and Ryoko down there."

"Where's Ranko?" the Sergeant Major asked.

"Not sure," the blond stated.

"I have eyes on a skirmish," Sousuke chimed in. "Three blocks south and one to the east - unknown males engaging with the Bonta-kun suits."

Melissa grabbed her binoculars. "Shit!" she cursed.

X X X X X

Ranma and Keitaro were lucky to get the jump on the half dozen giant teddy bears as they leapt down from the rooftops.

"Fu?" the lead suit exclaimed.

Keitaro bashed the optical sensors as he drove his feet into Bonta-kun's large eyes. Kicking off he made sure that the orange Bonta-kun in the lead collapsed down to the ground before he threw his combat knife at the next suit, burying the blade in the barrel of the shotgun. The resulting explosion knocked the suit back as the barrel exploded.

Forced to file through the alley in single file the miniature Arm Slaves were unable to use their full arsenal in the tight quarters. Lacking the speed and skill of the two martial artists the pilots seemed to simply stand there as Ranma shattered the optics of the first suit he engaged with a double hammer fisted blow. Flipping over the suit he used his momentum to lift the suit up and suddenly brought it down on top of the head of the next suit. A flick of the wrist was all he needed to bury the blade of the combat knife hilt deep into the third suit. Seeing the large eyes darken he assumed that he'd taken the suit out of commission. The fourth suit simply froze.

"Mu! Fu ffu!" Dropping its weapons and raising its arms the unit clearly decided to surrender.

Ranma took two shuffled steps before lashing out with a powerful thrusting side kick that sent the suit flying.

"I thought you weren't allowed to injure those who already gave up," Keitaro stated.

The now blond boy shrugged. "They're armed and wearing armor – how bad can we really hurt them?"

The older fighter nodded.

Ranma hunched over, offering to give Keitaro a boost which the lean fighter accepted as he jumped up to the roof. The bleach blond quickly followed.

X X X X X

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Notes –

Okay, here's how it is '#####' will denote scenes in the home reality and 'XXXXX' denotes scenes in the alternate reality.

* * * * *

"So?" Eishun asked.

"I think you're right," the old mage stated. "This rune looks to be very specific."

"So the portal won't pull anyone else into the other dimension," the younger mage stated.

The wrinkled old man nodded. "Yes, but that's not the only thing. It seems as though something is keeping young Ranma here."

X X X X X

"It's called the 'Frozen Flame'," Cologne stated as she looked at the symbol. "It's a magical artifact that is supposed to erase a person from existence."

The tall mage nodded. "And the Amazons"

"No longer have the Frozen Flame," the ancient Amazon stated. "It was stolen from our village over a hundred years ago."

Happosai whistled innocently.

"So, you finally found a way to get rid of the son-in-law?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the ancient grandmaster stated. "While I admit to liberating certain treasures from the Amazons I had no idea what that bobble was capable of."

Everyone eyed the old man.

"Had I know, I wouldn't have thrown it away."

Professor Akashi sighed. "Would any of the other rivals know?"

"Mousse might, but he'd have gloated about getting rid of Ranma by now," Cologne stated. "Still, there is a bright side."

Everyone eyed the ancient crone.

"We now know that it doesn't erase a person, merely send them to a parallel world where they don't exist. Now we just have to find a way for Ranma to return permanently. We know that it's possible for him to get back here but he can still be sent back there too."

Eishun and Professor Akashi nodded.

"I guess we need to round up the rivals to see if any of them know anything about this," Cologne stated.

X X X X X

'This is bad,' Motoko thought as Ryoko took another rubber bullet to the back. "Bastard!"

"I assure you," Tatewaki Kuno said as he stood atop one of the Bonta-kun, "my parents were married when I was conceived."

Wet and muddy from crossing the canal, the three girls stood in the midst of over a dozen Bonta-kuns and nearly two dozen fighters.

'No wonder he controls most of Nerima,' Ryoko mused as she pushed herself to her feet only to be hit with another volley of bean bags and rubber bullets.

"Where is your champion?" Kuno mocked as he fingered the eye patch. "I would fight him for you."

Gritting her teeth Motoko wondered if perhaps the allure of returning home had been too much for Ranma. Had he used them as decoys so that he could return home unimpeded? Had Keitaro gone after him to try and convince him to come back and help?

Cursing herself for not keeping track of him she knew that she'd failed.

* * * * *

The distant sound of gunshots filled the twilight sky, prompting Konatsu to instinctively look up and allowing Akane to connect with a fierce punch to his stomach. Only his instincts kept him from taking the brunt of the blow as he twisted to the side.

"Sorry," Akane apologized as she offered her hand to her brother.

Another shot rang out, followed by several more in quick succession. "Kanako," he muttered. Not even bothering to take his sister's offered hand the young fighter scrambled to his feet and kept running. Leaping over the koi pond and onto the large boulder he sprang onto the thick fortified wall before jumping over.

"You idiot!" Akane shouted as she realized just what her brother was up to.

"Akane!" Nabiki shouted from the dojo. "The girls tell me that Kuno's boys are on the move again. This time they're packing some serious heat."

* * * * *

"I've got movement," Sagara proclaimed urgently. "Someone's breaking into the Kuno Estate."

"Shit," Melissa cursed. "Orders sir?"

X X X X X

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Keitaro asked as he eyed the welt on the side of Motoko's face.

"I'll be fine," Motoko stated. It'd been a while since anyone had pushed her like that, though she was fighting unarmed, which had made a big difference. "The Tendo style of Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu is more offensive in nature, thus the focus on attacks that she used. Unfortunately that style leaves a lot of holes in their defense. Simply being the aggressor in the fight was enough to rattle her so that she left enough openings for me to expose."

Keitaro shook his head. "The two of you lost," he declared. "Both of you lost your tempers and if not for the intervention of the master of the dojo and the old woman you'd both probably still be trading blows just to satisfy your egos!"

Both girls stared at him for his outburst.

"Hey, she started it," Naru interjected as she leapt to the younger girl's defense.

"Look how bad you look," he stated as he pointed at Motoko's reflection in the water. "She looks just as bad. I know you guys hit me with some seriously hard hits, but I never look this bad afterwards. But the two of you, well, you just couldn't stop. That's not right. You were supposed to just be sparring, but that, that looked like it nearly turned into a serious fight."

"Hey," Motoko said, ignoring Keitaro, "what are they doing over there?"

Naru glanced at the trio of young men standing on the bank of the canal. "I don't know, why?"

"That strange symbol I saw, the one that I've now got in my room," Motoko stammered as she tried to explain things to her companions, "I found one right over there."

"Do you think they're the ones who tried to get rid of Ranma?" Keitaro asked as he eyed the three young men.

"Let's go find out," the hot headed Naru suggested as she took off running.

X X X X X

"What the hell is this?" Ranma asked as he looked at the large combat knife with chains. Never one to simply let things go to waste, the now blond boy had pillaged some of the more interesting weapons from the defeated Bonta-kun miniature Arm Slaves.

"It's called a chain blade," Keitaro huffed as he tried to talk and run at the same time. "Arm Slaves use those in place of combat knives to cut through almost anything."

Touching a button on the hilt Ranma was surprised by the sudden vibration running through his arm. The chains on the blade began grating against the face of the meter long blade. In the hands of one of the miniature Arm Slaves it would have looked like a knife, but in Ranma's hands it looked like a sword.

Not bothering to turn the weapon off Ranma simply flung the weapon with deadly accuracy. Though they were just approaching the canal and the girls were on the other side Ranma's aim proved to be impeccable as the chain knife pierced the head of the giant teddy bear that Kuno had been standing on.

Grabbing hold of the scruff of Keitaro's shirt he looked at his older cousin. "Trust me."

Keitaro nodded. Suddenly he was soaring through the air. A few seconds later he was crashing down into the backs of several members of the Nerima Guardians.

Without Keitaro to slow him down the gender cursed martial artist reached the street that ran beside the canal just as Keitaro was beginning to wreck havoc in the back of the Guardians.

Grabbing hold of the chain link fence he yanked out several metal posts. Hopefully this canal was just as deep as the one he remembered. Throwing three well placed poles into the canal he hoped that the sediment under the river would hold them up long enough for him to cross.

Chaos broke out on the other bank as the girls used Keitaro's distraction and Kuno falling down to their advantage. Grabbing their blades Motoko and Ryoko cut down a pair of Guardians even as Kanako ripped the shotgun out of a startled Bonta-kun's hands. Though it was loaded with non-lethal rounds the bullets still hurt as the shocked Guardians could attest to. Hit at point blank range the young captain of the first years took the shot right in his chest, knocking him back into several more Guardians. A second shot hit another Guardian in the arm, knocking his katana out of his hand.

Motoko promptly grabbed the blade with her other hand, cutting a gun in half with it even as she deflected a pair of blades from more Guardians with her own blade.

A slight pinprick was all the warning she had before jolts of electrical energy coursed through her body. Her well trained and developed muscles contracted and spasmed as she dropped her weapons and fell to the ground. A vicious kick to the head was all she saw before her world went dark.

"Motoko!" Ryoko shouted as she tried to rush to the other girl's aid.

The momentary distraction was enough for the Guardians as two of their number shot the busty kendoka with their bean bag loaded shot guns, throwing her off balance and forcing her to drop her sword. Another Guardian threw a weighted net over her while a second shot her with his stun gun.

Hearing the girls' cries Ranma cleared the distance between the last pole and the bank. Grabbing a sword he effortlessly disarmed another Guardian before delivering a punishing kick that sent the kendoka flying.

'Kill them! Kill them all!' a feminine voice screamed in his head.

With a katana in each hand the world class martial artist cut through everyone that stood in his way as he sought to rescue the fallen girls. A swift slash cut one fighter's face, a vicious stab penetrated the furry Arm Slave as the blade slipped between the bullet proof plates and slide between the pilot's ribs before puncturing his lung.

Ruthlessly and efficiently Ranma cut his way through the Nerima Guardians.

Several fighters simply dropped their weapons and ran as they watched the mysterious boy advance.

Raising a katana to block, Ranma gutted the attacker with the other blade. Not even caring that the boy's guts were spilling out the enraged boy kicked the shocked fighter.

More fighters ran. A few decided that getting in close was pointless as they dropped their blades in favor of their ranged weapons.

Not even allowing them a chance to use their stun guns Ranma reversed the grip on katana in his right hand, hurtling the weapon at the furthest of the fighters and impaling two through the chest. Jumping behind a Bonta-kun he cut the stubby legs out from underneath it even as he used it to shield him from the volley of scattered gunfire. His free hand pulled the chain knife out of the AS's holster before a powerful kick sent it tumbling over so that it crashed down on a group of Guardians.

Hearing the wicked, mechanical blade start up the remaining Guardians ran.

Rushing over to Ryoko and Motoko, Ranma cut the netting off of the busty kendoka before turning his attention to the unconscious Motoko.

"Ranma!" Kanako shouted as she jumped.

Instinctively Ranma turned around just as the sound of a high powered rifle sounded.

The lithe girl's body crumpled to the ground as it intercepted the bullet, diverting it enough that Ranma was not hit. Instinctively Ranma threw the katana in his left at the shooter.

Not used to the power of the rifle, the one eyed kendoka slipped on the muddy slope, barely avoiding the blade that flew over head.

"Kanako," Keitaro screamed in rage as he rushed the kendoka. "You bastard! I'll kill you!"

Ranma beat him to it as he effortlessly threw the chain blade at Kuno. The sickening sound of the high powered chains cutting through the startled boy's chest combined with the gurgling gasps as Tatewaki stared at the blade that protruded from his chest. Reflexively he squeezed the trigger, shooting several rounds into the muddy bank before Keitaro grabbed the hilt of the mechanical knife and eviscerated the boy.

He didn't know why, but Ranma found himself grabbing hold of Kanako's limp body. "Kanako," he pleaded, "say something."

Blood pooled beneath the dying girl as Ranma cradled her to him, trying to warm her cooling body.

X X X X X

"You guys are already done?" Ryoga asked his two accomplices as he eyed the other fighters.

"Of course," Kuno stated smugly. "Only a simpleton would have problems dealing with this task!"

"How'd you take care of it?" Mousse asked. He'd tried bombs, blow torches, and spears, but nothing seemed to erase the marks. Unable to remove them, the nearsighted boy had decided to simply cover it, painting over the marks.

"I destroyed it of course," Kuno boasted. In truth Kuno had simply had the building condemned and thus buried the symbol under a ton of rubble.

"Really?" Ryoga exclaimed. "How?"

"That's for…" a sudden light filled the dark shadows of the canal. Though the sun was still up it was hiding behind the buildings on the horizon.

Covering their eyes the three martial artists waited for the light to subside. The sight that greeted them was not something they wanted to see.

"Look what you've done you fool!" Tatewaki hissed. "Your idiocy has allowed…" Kuno paused.

"When did Saotome dye his hair?" Mousse asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"That's not Ranma," Ryoga stated. "Ranma's got black hair."

"T'is foul magic," Tatewaki stated as he drew his blade. "How else would he return here unless he himself used some magic to return?

"T'is time I vanquish you for good!"

Raising his kendo blade high Kuno suddenly found strong hands gripping his wrists. Staring into the blood red eyes of his nemesis Tatewaki could only wither as even his powerful wrists snapped like twigs in Ranma's hands.

"Saotome!" Mousse shouted as he pulled out a spear. Thrusting the myopic martial artist was surprised when Ranma threw Kuno at him. Despite his dislike of the arrogant kendoka, Mousse wasn't one to simply strike down a possible ally.

Leaping out of the way Mousse was greeted with a powerful kick to the stomach as Ranma sent him flying into the cold canal water.

"Ranma!" Ryoga shouted as he charged his rival. "Prepare to die!"

Usually Ranma simply dodged the powerful haymaker, but this was not one of those times and this was not the same Ranma.

Parrying the attack, Ranma latched onto Ryoga's wrist before back handing the tougher boy, breaking his nose. Several vicious elbow blows smashed dazed the bandana wearing boy as the pair tumbled. Like usual Ranma ended up on top as he pinned Ryoga's arm with his legs and pressed down on Ryoga's throat.

"Ranma!" Keitaro exclaimed urgently. "Ranma?" he said again, as he noted that this Ranma was blond.

She didn't know why, but Naru grabbed Keitaro's arm, preventing him from getting closer to the enraged boy.

"Ranma," Motoko shouted. "Stop! Keitaro, Naru; check on the girl."

With no one to stop her, the kendoka stepped forward. Her slender and gentle hand tentatively reached out for him.

The sight of blood on his bare chest and the still unidentified girl terrified her, but she knew that if she didn't do something, anything, Ranma might actually kill the boy he'd pinned down.

His bare skin was burning. She could feel him trembling as continued to pin the other boy.

"Please, stop," she urged, taking another step closer to him.

"Kanako!" Keitaro exclaimed. "Kanako!"

Murderous rage filled Ranma's eyes as he press against Ryoga's throat, suffocating the other boy.

"Ranma!" she hissed. "Please, help us!"

Ranma suddenly went limp, allowing Ryoga to gasp for breath.

"Ranma," Genma said sadly as he wrapped his powerful arms around his son. "What's happened to you?"

* * * * *

Never had Genma Saotome been more disappointed in his son. After years of hard training the boy in holding back his emotions and showing restraint Ranma had finally seriously injured an opponent. Had Genma not used a sealed technique he was sure that Ranma would have killed each of his rivals. Then again, maybe that wouldn't have been a bad thing. After months of being hounded by them perhaps Ranma had finally decided to do something about them.

Still, snapping the kendoka's wrists was a bit excessive.

And the hair – what did he do to his hair?

It didn't help that Ranma had shown up covered in blood and a dead girl. That she was his adopted cousin though was even worse.

Though he had wanted to go to Tendo's, Genma knew that returning with an unconscious and nearly unrecognizable Ranma as well as the girl who had just beaten up Akane would not be a good idea. The Cat Café wasn't a good place either as the excitable Shampoo was running the store in Cologne's absence and would likely go on a rampage if she found out what had happened. Dr. Tofu's wasn't safe considering that Mousse, Ryoga, and Kuno were still recovering from the beating that Ranma had given them. No, in the end returning to his cousin's dorm was the best option.

Standing over his unconscious son Genma was torn between waiting for his son to wake up but also dreaded it.

X X X X X

Genma sat in the darkness, the sound of gentle sobbing from the defeated girl barely registered to the master martial artist. "Come in," he stated.

Silence answered him as the violet haired girl behind him immediately quieted, wiping away her tears.

"You've brought shame to the village," a wizened voice proclaimed. "Though you have at least brought a powerful fighter into the village and strengthened our blood. Unfortunately you will not be able to serve the village by enlisting, though your children will take your place when it is their turn."

The violet haired girl renewed her sobbing.

"And you, son-in-law, unfortunately our village cannot accept you."

"Of course not," Genma stated. "I need no shelter, all I seek is to continue my bloodline. I shall return once the girl gives birth to my child and when she is ready she shall give me another. She need not become my wife, but I will expect her to give me a healthy child or two."

"We are not baby factories," the Amazon elder stated.

"No," Genma conceded. "You are the proud Amazons – one of the last practitioners of the ancient and noble arts. Had I wanted just a strong woman to give me a child I would have done what the Musk do. I want a strong child who has the art in his blood. That is something only the Amazons can give me."

"You're not welcome here," the woman stated.

"Fine, I'll take my mistress with me."

Shampoo began to cry. She wasn't even his wife - she was little more than a concubine or mistress.

"She can stay," the elder stated. "And I'm sure you'll be back when she gives birth to your child."

"If she tries to have a miscarriage or any of you cause her to lose the child, I will return," Genma stated.

The woman nodded. "I'm sure you will assassin."

X X X X X

Though her short tenure as captain the young woman rarely ever played with her long ponytail during a briefing or debriefing, but today was an exception. Something about everything that had gone down in the past few days didn't feel right.

"The Japanese Government insists that this incident was corporate espionage," Kalinin stated. "Though they do admit that there could be Yakuza involvement as well, the incident is being kept under wraps due to the influence that the Kuno family has over Nerima."

"And the martial artists?" Tessa asked as she twirled the end of her braided ponytail.

"Motoko Aoyama was stunned but should recover, Ryoko Mitsurugi suffered minor bruises, and Keitaro Urashima was uninjured," the gruff veteran stated. "The blond boy is unaccounted for as is Kanako Urashima. No one even knows what happened to Ranko Mitsurugi.

"Aside from Tatewaki Kuno none of the Nerima Guardians were killed. Seven are in serious condition, six have debilitating injures, and eight have only minor or superficial injuries that were treated before they were released."

The young captain nodded as she looked over the individual dossiers of the Nerima Guardians.

"The press hasn't even mentioned that there were any martial artists involved and have put it off as a Yakuza hit. Considering the Nerima Guardian's history with the Yakuza it's very believable."

"Get me all the information we have on Ranma Saotome and Ranko Mitsurugi," the petit girl ordered. "We need to know what connects them and why they seem to be at the center of almost everything recently."

X X X X X

There were few times when Happosai had to take advantage of his grandmaster status. Unfortunately one of those days was today. Standing before the assembled residents of the Hinata Sou, he looked out at the nearly two dozen martial artists of various schools and disciplines.

"Given the current state of affairs it is best that you hear this from me," the grandmaster stated. "Due to the recent attacks the military has deployed several special forces units around the Hinata Sou's perimeter; they'll probably have people deployed to watch some of us just to ensure that we're not being targeted by anyone as well.

"As some of you may know there was a young man and woman staying with us who is currently missing. We are searching for them but as of yet we have not been able to find him with all the additional security we are facing."

Slight murmurs could be heard throughout the crowd.

"Do we know who attacked us?" someone shouted.

"The recent attack in Nerima was perpetrated by Tatewaki Kuno," Happosai stated. "The heir to Kuno Industries was killed as a result, though the press is passing it off as a Yakuza hit. Due to the wealth and influence that the Kuno's have I'm surprised that they aren't trying to openly blame us considering that one of our own killed the arrogant bastard. That said, I do expect some sort of retaliation, and clearly the government does too.

"As to the attack on the Hinata Sou the other day, well, it's possible that the Tatewaki Kuno was involved, but it appears as though he merely copied them."

"But we were attacked by Bonta-kuns both times!"

Happosai nodded. "True, but as you may recall there was a recent incident between two rival Yakuza which involved one side using the miniature Arm Slaves. It's possible that the use of those Arm Slaves was merely coincidence."

More grumbling filled the lounge as the gathered fighters and martial artists absorbed the information.

Standing up Tsuruko looked down at all those gathered before her. "Make sure that if you leave the Hinata Sou that you are accompanied by at least two others. Safety in numbers."

X X X X X

Watching the video images of the encounter between Tatewaki Kuno and his Nerima Guardians against the handful of martial artists the silver-gray haired youth smirked. The arrogant young anarchist had played right into hands, behaving just as he had expected him to just because he'd advised the fool against such an action. Yes, fools like Kuno had their place and once they had played their part they were expendable.

With the Eligor prototype completely tested all that they needed to do was mass produce it. Unfortunately that was never part of Leonard's plans.

But Kuno had left him with an enigma – who was Ranma Saotome and why had Sophia chosen him?

# # # # #

Having spent much of her life at the Hinata Sou Hinata Urashima had expected to feel the usual bountiful energy that the current cast of residents had charged the all girls dormitory with. The somber air that greeted her though was not only unexpected, it was unusual.

But seeing her estranged daughter was another thing altogether.

"Nodoka?"

"Mother?" the younger woman replied.

"What are you doing here?" Hina asked.

"It's a long story," Nodoka stated wirily as she embraced her mother. "Kanako…" she turned to the lithe girl, a sad look in her eyes.

"What's happened?" a masculine voice asked.

The three women turned to see a rather familiar man enter the lounge.

"You must be Eishun," the wise former dorm manager greeted.

"You must be Hinata Urashima," the mage returned. His eyes locked on the lithe girl at the elderly woman's side. "Kanako!"

"Ranma!" a distant voice cried out.

"Sorry," Eishun said as he turned around and dashed away.

Nodoka followed suit, prompting the two new arrivals to give chase as well.

# # # # #

Ranma woke with a start. Not one to be knocked out often the expert martial artist realized his predicament as he noted the presence of thick rope cords that bound him. Faint memories of his last waking moments filled his racing mind even as the sound of gentle sobbing from the neighboring room came to his ears.

Channeling ki into his muscles Ranma In a flash he was free of his bonds, breaking out of the rope as though it were yarn. Springing to his feet he barged through thin wall.

"Ranma?"

The blond boy glanced around the room, assessing the situation. Motoko knelt in the far corner; bruised and battered she had her sheathed sword in hand. In the center of the room lay Kanako's still body, wrapped in white linens. Her adopted brother knelt beside her, gently crying while beside him knelt the busty auburn haired girl.

"Keitaro…" he began to say despite not knowing what he wanted to say.

The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps seemed to alarm him as he instinctively leapt between the sliding door and the still kneeling Keitaro.

"Ranma," Motoko exclaimed as she leapt to her feet, "it's alright."

Reaching out she put her left hand on his right wrist.

"What's happened to you boy?" Genma's deep voice asked as the rotund man appeared in the gaping hole in the wall that Ranma had just created.

Twisted around to so that he faced his father, Ranma again turned as the door slid open, revealing several slightly familiar figures.

"Ranma!" his mother exclaimed as she rushed to embrace him.

"Mom?" he whispered as instinctively pulled back. Having endured the embrace from his father during a previous duel the currently blond boy had his own reservations about being hugged.

Several more figures appeared behind the trio of magi, each of them unfamiliar to Ranma save for the busty drunk girl, Cologne, and the lithe girl. "K-Kanako?"

Keitaro spun around.

The small crowd parted, allowing Ranma and his cousin to see the adopted Urashima and giving her a clear view of the still form that lay before Keitaro.

"What's going on here?" the tiny woman beside Kanako demanded.

"Mother," Nodoka said as she turned to face the older woman, "this is my son, Ranma Saotome."

The blond boy blinked. "I've got a grandmother?"

Eishun sighed. "It seems that there is a lot that we all need to talk about."

# # # # #

"What happened to you?" Dr. Tofu asked as a new patient entered his clinic.

"Vigorous sparring," the short haired girl replied.

The carefree doctor nodded, "It seems that everyone's been training hard - must be because school's out for exams."

Akane nodded.

"Would you mind giving this to the patient on bed one?" Dr. Tofu asked as he handed the aggressive tomboy a glass of water and a small cup with various pills and medication.

Accepting the cup and glass, the youngest Tendo daughter limped over to the bed.

"My beautiful Akane Tendo!" Tatewaki Kuno exclaimed. "You've chosen to come to my aid in my time of need! You've finally-"

Taking advantage of Kuno's open mouth the youngest Tendo threw the cup of medicine into the gaping maw. With the pills in place she empted the contents of the glass into his mouth before slamming his mouth shut. Ignoring the sputtering sounds she quickly left his bedside, closing the curtain behind her.

"Um, Dr. Tofu?"

"Yes?"

Following the sound of his voice Akane moved to the next bed. "Mousse?"

"Augh…" the long haired boy groaned.

"What happened to him?" the short haired girl exclaimed.

"Ranma," a familiar voice mumbled from the next bed.

"Ryoga?"

Pulling aside the curtain Akane stared at the injured lost boy. The noticeable bruising around his neck though was unusual. "What happened to you?"

"Ranma," the bandana wearing youth muttered hoarsely. "We fought Ranma."

Akane simply nodded. This wasn't too unusual… but hadn't Ranma been banished to another dimension? Wait, if he fought them then he was back!

"I've got to go," Akane said as she rushed off, completely ignoring her own injuries. '_Ranma's back, then that means he's probably on his way home_.'

# # # # #

Despite her intense training as a Shinmeiryu swordswoman Motoko couldn't help but blanch as she listened to Ranma's tale. Though she understood that her alternate self was considerably less skilled than she was, she couldn't help but feel sick when she'd heard of how the other Motoko had lost to Tatewaki Kuno and nearly been raped by the arrogant fighter.

Part of her was glad that she wasn't Ranma and couldn't jump between dimensions. Though this Japan was not as technologically advanced as the other one, it wasn't as sexist as the other Japan. Women might have to fear the occasional grope while on the train, but they didn't have to travel in packs to avoid being victimized and sexually assaulted.

Shaking in righteous rage and indignation, the young swordswoman wondered her other self managed to persevere without killing someone. Perhaps it was a good thing that her other self wasn't as remarkable a swordswoman as she was.

# # # # #

'_Wow, I have to get my hands on that tech!_' the exuberant Su thought as she raced to her laboratory. '_An alternate dimension where they have really advanced tech! That's so cool!_'

# # # # #

He'd always thought of himself as a man of the arts. Having dedicated his lifetime to training and training his own son to be a man amongst men Genma Saotome had never thought of the consequences of the possibility that his son might not survive the training.

Looking into his loving (though somewhat insane) wife's eyes Genma knew that he was a man who had clearly been given more than he deserved. He had a loving and supportive (though crazy) wife and a son who had achieved so much. Though he had nearly broken the boy several times during their long training journey Ranma had always respected him (though sometimes only grudgingly).

Still, hearing of the other Genma's failures and the path that he had taken, the rotund martial artist wondered if he could continue to endorse Ranma's current path and course in life. Perhaps it was time to rethink things.

# # # # #

"I believe that there is something in the other world that pulls at the boy," Cologne stated as she looked up at the three young magi. "Just as there is something in this world that wants him expelled from this world, those two forces combined are going to keep pulling him away until he ultimately is trapped in that world or can resolve this."

The three magi eyed the Amazon Elder.

"Regardless of what we say Ranma will try to get back to the other world," the elder stated.

"Should we stop him then?" Takahata asked.

Eishun shook his head, "We'll need to give him equipment that he can use, that can help him in that messed up parallel world."

# # # # #

The estranged mother and daughter stood across from each other, unsure what to make of the situation that they were in.

"You picked yourself a real winner there," Hinata sighed.

"He's a hard working man," Nodoka retorted. "Though he may not be the most loving and caring person he has always kept his word with me. And he does love me."

The elder Urashima sighed. "Yes, he does love you, but he's still an idiot – what kind of man leaves his wife for over twelve years just to train his son in the art? You ask me, he loves the arts more than he loves you."

# # # # #

After spending the past couple of hours sitting still Ranma felt the need to move around. Everyone who had gathered for his tale had slowly wandered off once he'd completed the tall tale. With explicit orders to not leave the premises Ranma headed up to the roof.

The cool night air felt refreshing to him as he leapt onto the banister, walking along the thin wooden beam despite the 50 degree incline with casual ease despite the gusts of wind.

"Do you have to do that?" Motoko asked, slightly irritable as she sensed that she was no longer alone.

"What?" Ranma asked as he reached the balcony that overlooked the grand stairs leading up to the Hinata Sou. Seeing the bruised girl scowl Ranma leapt off of the railing, landing gently beside her.

"Why?" the young swordswoman asked. "Why did you save me, um, her?"

"Because it was the right thing to do," he replied. "I just did what I thought was right."

Feeling the strain of the long day and the brutal fight with the Tendo heir, Motoko leaned against the railing, not even caring that she was so close to the other fighter.

"You look stupid," Motoko stated.

Ranma blinked. "I like… okay, maybe I don't like it, but it does look cool."

The somber girl's lips curled as she fought to prevent from smiling. "Thank you," she said, "I don't know if she said that to you, but I thank you."

The blond boy shrugged. "I don't do what I do because I want thanks," he replied. "So, you gonna tell me what happened to you?"

Motoko looked away. The brief fight with Akane Tendo was a sore spot with her despite the fact that she'd won – though in truth she felt like it had been a draw as both girls had lost their respective tempers and used a bit too much force against each other.

"I met your fiancée," she stated.

Ranma blinked. "Did you beat her?"

It was Motoko's turn to blink. "What kind of question is that? I just told you that I met your fiancée. Why are you trying to be so familiar with me?"

"Most of my fiancées aren't because I chose them," the blond boy retorted. "Just like this entire situation – it's out of my control but I'm just dealing with it."

"So you don't love her?"

Ranma paused. "I care about her," he replied honestly, "but I don't think that I know enough about love to say that I do or don't."

The two young martial artists stood beside each other, just a few scant centimeters away yet feeling so far apart as the silence between them grew.

"Ranma," Keitaro said as the dorm manager walked up the last few stairs, "you're going back, aren't you?"

The blond boy spun around, "Yeah."

"Why?" Motoko exclaimed. "You're finally home again, and you know what triggers the portals – why go back?"

Ranma shrugged, "I just have to. The other Keitaro deserves to have his sister back so that he and everyone else there can give her a proper funeral."

"There are things that a man just must do," Genma stated as he walked up the steps. "Ranma, son, I know that I told you to never use the forbidden techniques, but if things in that world are as seriously messed up as you say they are, I know that there are more dangerous things in the other world, and to handicap you would only make it harder for even you to return home."

Ranma nodded.

"But once you get back for good I expect you to do something about your hair – it's dreadful!"

The blond boy smirked even as he nodded.

"And I expect you to do something about your fiancée and getting married!"

Had he not been leaning against the railing Ranma might have fell over.

"Ranma!" the exuberant Su shouted as she bounded up the stairs. "It's almost time!"

Grimly the blond martial artist turned around. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself for the task ahead. Yes, he was home, but he couldn't leave things the way they were.

"Take this with you!" the young foreigner offered excitedly.

"What is that Su?" Keitaro asked as he looked at what looked to be a watch.

"It's a special watch," the girl replied. "I've been studying the strange energies that the mark in Motoko's room has been emitting. If I'm right it should tell you where a portal is and if the portal is ready for you to jump through."

Ranma glanced from the blond girl to his cousin. Keitaro simply shrugged, unsure about the girl's claims. True, she was a mad scientist and had created some truly amazing machines, but this, this seemed to be too perfect.

"Though I may prefer to invent things, my people know a bit about magic as well," Su beamed, her confident smile erasing all doubts in Ranma's mind.

Accepting the offered item Ranma returned her smile.

The quick walk down to Motoko's room was fruitful as Su's watch appeared to glow, indicating that perhaps her invention was capable of doing all that she told them it was.

Outside of Motoko's room the assembled magi and other magical experts stood expectantly.

"Ranma," Hinata Urashima said as she addressed her grandson, "this is the cursed blade Hina. I'm sure that a powerful fighter like yourself will be capable of dealing mastering the cursed blade. If not, than feel free to leave it in the other world."

"I wish there was more we could give you," Eishun stated as he slid the door open behind him. "But if we're right, this portal will open soon and if you don't take it now we don't know when it'll open again – it could be in twelve hours or in twenty four, or it could throw the other portals out of sync as well."

Nodding, Ranma accepted the sheathed blade.

The others parted, allowing Keitaro and Kanako to bring the still form of the other Kanako to Ranma.

"Take care of her," Keitaro stated as he handed the other Kanako to him.

"The other portal should open up at 6pm," Takahata stated as Ranma approached the room.

"Or 6am," Su piped in.

"The others are still relatively unknown, but we'll have someone stationed at each one should you make any sudden appearances," Professor Akashi added.

The symbol slowly began to emit a soft glow as Ranma approached it.

"Bring me back some tech from the other world," Su suggested as she waved energetically.

Stepping into the room Ranma closed his eyes as the bright light consumed him.

X X X X X

"What are you doing here?" Ryoko asked as she spotted Keitaro.

The formidable young Urashima heir shrugged, "Don't know."

Though it wasn't unusual for the various martial artists to freely use the lounge, it was rare for anyone to be up this late.

"You alright?" Ryoko asked even as she rubbed her bruised shoulder.

Keitaro nodded. "You?"

The busty kendoka nodded.

"Aahh!"

Instinctively the two young fighters ran towards the source of the sound. Though Motoko's room had been repaired the young Shinmeiryu heir had not been allowed to use the room as it and the magical symbol were being investigated.

"Ranma?" Eishun exclaimed as the former heir to the Shinmeiryu stood before the entrance to his sister's room.

"Kanako?" Motoko exclaimed.

Spurred on by the apparent reappearance of his sister Keitaro shoved the assembled magi aside. "Kanako!"

Kanako's sudden disappearance as well as the fact that he'd seen his adopted sister get shot had made the young master understandably edgy and restless. The rational part of his mind told him that his sister had been injured and possibly died from the shot she'd taken, but part of him couldn't help but hope that she was still alive. Though no one had previously been able to jump with Ranma it was possible that that was due to the fact that the power of the portals was slowly growing and expanding, thus allowing Ranma to suddenly take someone else through the portal with him.

Having heard Motoko call out his sister's name he hoped that she was alright.

But the sight of Ranma holding the still form of his sister and another young woman who wore the same face as his sister was slightly unsettling. Dressed as though she were attending a funeral, the girl wore all black.

"Kanako?"

The lithe girl looked up at him, still not sure what to make of things. "Kei-Keitaro?"

# # # # #

A/N

Okay, I've made a change in the format. Hopefully this works better for everyone. Let me know what you think.

Dreamingfox


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Notes –

Just a reminder – 'XXXXX' indicates a scene in the alternate reality, '#####' is a scene in Ranma's home reality.

The timeline for this fic is 1998, and yes, I'm adjusting the Ranma ½ cast members' ages and birthdays to reflect that change. Yes, I've also adjusted the Love Hina cast to fit this as well.

X X X X X

The cold mid-day rain didn't bother Ranma much as he stood between Ryoko and Motoko. Stealing a glance at Kanako as she stood beside Keitaro elicited an odd sensation, then again, it wasn't everyday that someone attended their own funeral.

Though Happosai and the others wanted to give Kanako, this world's Kanako, a proper funeral, they also knew that it would be best to not list the lithe girl as deceased, not with the other Kanako having been dragged into this world.

Glancing down at his new watch, Ranma knew that he (and hopefully Kanako) could return to their home world hopefully in the evening if everything worked out alright. Looking back at his travels the young martial artist had an idea as to why he and Kanako were able to jump between worlds, though the thought seemed to sicken him. If he was right then he'd have to be extra careful about who could and couldn't be around whenever he jumped.

X X X X X

Sagara was exhausted. Having spent the previous night staking out Nerima and the Kuno estates had proven to be a very long night. Not only had Kuno and his goons picked a fight with the martial artists, but the boy's sudden death and the raid on the Kuno estate by unknown forces had caused a shitload of paperwork, not to mention the various briefings and debriefings, which meant that he and the rest of his team were flown back to the _Tuatha De Danaan_ and then back to Tokyo so that they could resume their respective missions.

Unfortunately all of that sudden traveling left him with little time to actually sleep.

Despite all of that though Sagara knew that he couldn't skip out on his day with Kaname – he had promised to take her to the amusement park to make up for all the extra cramming that they'd had to do just so he wouldn't be held back a year.

Checking the weather forecast he quickly devoured the nutritional but tasteless food before heading out for the day.

Closing, locking and securing the door to his apartment (you could never be too safe) the young soldier glanced at his new neighbor.

"Morning," the blond with duel-citizenship said as he eyed the shorter boy.

"Good morning."

"I hear you're going out with Kaname today," Kurtz teased.

"Affirmative," Sagara replied as he walked past the blond.

"Do is it a date?" the other boy asked as he fell into step with Sagara.

"Negative," the scarred boy replied. "This is payment for her assistance with helping me study for the make-up exams that I missed. No, you're not allowed to come along."

The taller boy paused.

"Kaname specifically told me yesterday that you're not allowed to come along."

Despite being rejected Kurtz smiled. "So it is a date."

X X X X X

The cool, light rain felt refreshing to the young man as he ran through the vacant streets of Nerima. Once, not too long ago, he wouldn't have been able to enjoy the running through the streets alone, though technically he wasn't alone. Several meters behind him his adopted family ran. Normally Akane would have easily kept up with him, but today wasn't normal in the least.

With the apparent fall of the Nerima Guardians and the death of their leader (not to mention the son of the Principal of their high school) things in Nerima were slowly changing. Though they Nerima Guardians had ruled most of the ward their defeat and the loss of their leader and primary backer left Nerima with a gaping void. No longer would the Guardians rule Nerima, and with the Tendo family (sans Soun Tendo) jogging through the streets openly it would soon be clear to all the residents that things were changing.

But the reason for Konatsu's excess energy wasn't because Kuno had been killed and dethroned; no, it was because his close friend was missing. True, Motoko and Ryoko hadn't seen what happened to Kanako, and Keitaro was being very tightlipped about everything, but there was clear evidence that two people were missing.

It didn't help that there was blood on the ground where two people had suddenly vanished.

Unable to account for his long time friend, Konatsu hadn't been able to sleep. With the Hinata Sou under an apparent lock down he doubted that he'd be able to visit the martial artists there anytime soon.

Remaining silent the rest of the jog, Konatsu circled back to wait for his sisters and mother before they all returned home.

Breakfast proved to be a fairly subdued affair. With Kasumi off at college and the others off from school for the rest of the week they all had been spending more time at home than normal.

The sound of Soun clearing his throat though brought all of the children's eyes to their father.

Setting down his chopsticks the Tendo Patriarch glanced at his three children. "Due to recent events your mother and I felt it best to have you all transferred from Furinkan," he stated. "While we've been trying to transfer you all out of that school, we've finally received word from Jindai that they'll accept your transfer once they return from the midterm break."

"Since you're all active students you won't need to take the placement or midterm exams since Furinkan and Jindai work on the same schedule," Natsume said with reassuring smile. "After breakfast I'll give you each some money so that you can get your new uniforms."

X X X X X

The muscular man stared at the crystalline blade he held in his hands. Though he'd stolen this treasure from his ancient master nearly ten years ago he'd never really bothered to find out what it did or why it his former master had it. Assuming that the crystal blade was simply decorative he'd never bothered to look into the item, but seeing it glow with an inner light, well, that made the item all the more interesting.

Stuffing the glowing blade back into the sack he gathered his things. As a world renowned assassin Genma knew that eventually the others would come looking for him, especially since he'd just crossed Amalgam.

Turning on the prepaid cell phone Genma began scanning the news. It was the best way for him to keep abreast of the situations and for him to keep in touch with his contacts. Though he possessed a cell phone the muscular man knew better than to give his number to anyone even if he could pick up another phone quickly. Genma knew that his discreet contacts would try to contact him through the news media, usually a well phrased email or text message that CNN or one of the other news agencies displayed as they provided viewer input or comments to various news bits.

Fortunately today was not one of those days, though in truth Genma really didn't expect that word of his recent escape from Hades had reached his old contacts.

Just as he was about to turn off that option he noticed a news story. Clicking on it he opened the article. Quickly reading through the brief article, which was in fact more of a news update, he sighed - he really didn't want to go back to Japan this soon.

X X X X X

For the longest time Ranma had assumed that he had not family beyond his father. Having spent nearly his entire life training with is father he'd even forgotten that he had a mother up until she'd appeared not to long ago. Unfortunately once he'd discovered that his mother was in fact alive he'd had to hide himself from her due to his father's insane promise and his gender changing curse. Still, she'd accepted him once she discovered the truth, and he'd even moved back in with her for a while, until their house was wrecked.

In the short time he'd had with his mother Ranma never even thought about the existence of any other relatives. Discovering that he had several cousins (some close to his age), an uncle (on his father's side), and a grandmother (on his mother's side) came as a big blow to the usually steadfast martial artist. It didn't help that he had to deal with two sets of them who remarkably different.

Point in case was Keitaro Urashima. This Keitaro was a confident, expert martial artist and the heir to the Urashima fortune and style. He was so good that few of the martial arts masters at the Hinata Sou could even realize that he was in the same room with them unless he was standing in their direct line of sight. Unlike this Keitaro, the other Keitaro was a relative bookworm, not to mention the manly physique and muscles that made many of the younger women in the Hinata Sou swoon. Well, one there was one constant actually – both versions of Keitaro were prone to be hard workers.

Ducking under a swift left cross, Ranma swiftly countered with a back flipping kick that forced Keitaro to retreat. Both attack and counter barely missed their mark by a few hairs, displaying the offensive and defensive skills of both fighters.

Ranma had to admit, of all the fighters he'd encountered in this parallel world, this Keitaro was the only one who was significantly better than his alternate. Not only that, but this Keitaro was possibly the best fighter he's had the pleasure of sparring with since coming to this world.

Landing on his outstretched hand Ranma nimbly spun around, delivering a surprising middle kick that forced Keitaro to block. Swinging his body around the dimensional traveler connected with a follow up kick from his other leg to Keitaro's side.

Springing back to his feet Ranma smiled at his cousin.

"You 're good," he stated with a smile.

"But you're better," Keitaro shot back.

Ranma shrugged. "I've been"

"training since you were able to walk," the older boy finished.

Ranma nodded. He forgot that people in this world knew of him, well, up to the point where he'd died.

The sound of the annex door opening brought the boys' attention to the crowd of martial artists that appeared. As the only building large enough to contain some of the more rigorous activities that most martial artists engage in, the annex had been renovated to be used as a dojo - thus keeping any prying eyes from seeing just how good the martial artists living at the Sou really were.

Seeing the look on Kanako's face Ranma wondered if he'd been like that when he'd first jumped between worlds. True, it had only been the other day, but it seemed to him like he'd been able to get better at differentiating between the alternate versions of people he knew or was getting to know.

For her part Kanako had appeared to take the transition fairly well. Had he known that she usually referred to her Keitaro as 'Onii-san' though he might have thought differently. Then again, this Keitaro was physically different from the other Keitaro - just as this Kanako was noticeably different from the other Kanako. Aside from the fact that this Kanako wore a lot of black there was the fact that this Kanako appeared to be leaner than the one that had passed.

"May I?" the lithe girl asked as she stepped up onto the platform that the two boys had been sparring on.

His usual shrug was answer enough as Ranma hopped off of the raised floor, leaving just Keitaro and Kanako alone on the stage.

The lithe fighter led with a stiff thrusting middle punch to the chest that Keitaro sidestepped. A follow up straight left elbow kept him from countering.

Jumping back Keitaro set his feet once he landed, setting up for his own series of swift punches that forced Kanako to back off.

"She's good," Ryoko stated. "She's better than…"

No one wanted to mention the other girl, not in the presence of this Kanako at least.

Motoko nodded, "Keitaro's as good as my sister, maybe better, yet they're fighting as though they're equals. She's was never able to hold her own against him for this long."

The bleach blond martial artist shrugged. While Keitaro was technically better and his moves flowed together better, Kanako was faster and more flexible, and her attacks were simply feints designed to lure the older boy into attacking her. Though her counter attacks were less flashy, the precise yet barely noticeable attacks would soon take effect.

Seeing Keitaro shifting his feet though Ranma knew that the older Urashima had caught on to Kanako's game plan. Rather than leaping out of the way of a swift high kick he let the hit connect even as he spun with the force of the attack, lessening the effect. His unexpected counter connected with Kanako's back, throwing her into the air and off the stage.

Leaping to Kanako's aid, Ranma caught the unsurprisingly light girl before she crashed into the wooden pillar.

"Thank you," she said breathlessly as the fake blond set her down.

"No problem," he replied. '_He's good, probably the only one who could hang with the Wrecking Crew.'_

"I guess we should let the ladies practice," Keitaro stated rather than suggested.

With a nod Ranma fell into step beside the older boy, leaving the handful of girls to their own devices as they headed towards the entrance.

"You're taking her back," Keitaro stated.

"Once the portal's ready," Ranma replied. "If it lets me."

The older boy eyed him.

"It pulled me here, and it's pulled her here. I don't know why, but it seems like there's something in this world that I need to do. I'm not sure if there's something that she has to do as well," the blond boy replied.

"So you don't know if it'll keep pulling her here, especially with…"

Ranma nodded. "I'll"

"Don't say it," Keitaro quickly hissed as he turned to face Ranma. Leading the younger man out of the building he made sure that they were well away from it. "The Annex is magical."

The blonde's brow went up at the news.

"Three days ago I wouldn't have believed it myself, but…" he shrugged. "The Annex is supposed to be made of wood from the World Tree in Mahora. It has the power to bind people with their promises."

Ranma blinked.

"Fifteen years ago I made a promise to a little girl that I'd go to Tokyo University with her," the older boy explained. "But now that I'm there I don't even know her name or what she might look like."

"A magical promise?" Ranma asked.

Again Keitaro shrugged. "I don't know. I never really thought about it until, well, you know…"

It was Ranma's turn to nod. "So now you're thinking that maybe…"

"When I was little I was told that if two people promise to go to Todai together that they'll end up getting married."

Despite himself Ranma shivered. Marriage vows like that always freaked him out.

"I also promised Kanako that when we grew up we'd run the Hinata Sou together," Keitaro added.

Ranma buried his face in his palm. '_This just keeps getting better and better_.'

"So you think that the Flame is pulling her so that you can keep your promise to her?"

The older martial artist shrugged, "Maybe. Look, I don't know magic, and up until the other day I didn't really think it existed. But"

"Yeah," Ranma shook his head, cutting his cousin off, "there's just so much proof. Man, I hate magic."

# # # # #

The slowly growing pile of broken bricks and boards was slowly starting to claim the yard. Though Akane was usually good about cleaning up her mess, she could be very single minded about things until she blew off some steam.

Still, there was only so much room left in the yard.

"Something bothering you sis?" Nabiki asked as she leaned against the wall of the house.

"Argh!" the youngest Tendo shouted as she smashed through six blocks with a fierce axe kick, crushing the concrete blocks with ease. "Do you know where the Saotomes are?"

Nabiki shook her head.

"At first I thought it was because Ranma and Mr. Saotome went on a training trip," Akane stated as she set up several blocks. "Then we found out that Ranma was sent to a different dimension."

Nabiki nodded.

"But I found out that he came back yesterday."

The middle Tendo raised her brow questioningly. This was news. "How'd you find out?"

"I went to Dr. Tofu's after, you know, and ran into Ryoga, Mousse, and Kuno," the younger sibling explained. "Dr. Tofu says that their injuries were the result of a fight they had with Ranma."

'Injured? That doesn't sound like Ranma.' "Why don't you clean up here and I'll stop by Dr. Tofu's to see if they saw where that moron ran off to?"

Akane nodded as she finished placing the last of twelve bricks on the stack.

X X X X X

These were the days that she lived for. These were the days that gave her a thrill and a sense of accomplishment, especially considering that she'd recently failed at her task of staying hidden and keeping Kaname Chidori safe.

Though she appeared to be a muscular Japanese man in his late thirties the young woman was anything but. Though Korea had a mandatory 4 year enlistment, only men were conscripted into the South Korean Army. For a woman to join wasn't unusual, just unlikely. But for her to have advanced so far in so little time had been a blessing for South Korea. The expert marksmen and information gatherer had quickly made a name for herself, even getting enlisted into Mithril's black ops.

Unfortunately that was where things had gone south for her as she had been stationed to observe and guard Kaname Chidori. True, the girl's other guardian was a thick headed army grunt, but he did his job and kept her relatively safe.

Setting the laser scope onto a mirror she watched as the reflected light appeared on Kaname's ample bosom. Watching through her binoculars she smirked under the heavy mask as the guard dog tackled the blue haired beauty.

Yes, today would be a good day.

X X X X X

Having spent the past six months or so guarding Kaname Chidori, Sousuke Sagara had gotten used to being hit with the large, vicious, paper fan that she always seemed to carry. It came as a slight surprise when he was kicked in the ribs rather than beaten over the head and sent flying into a nearby trash can.

"Get off of her you pervert!" his assailant shouted.

Judging by the pitch of the voice it was clear that his assailant was female. Fighting the urge to pull out his Grande Puissance 35 (he'd left the Glock G22 at his apartment per Kaname's request) he stood up and eyed his assailant. Seeing the auburn haired girl reaching to help the blue haired beauty to her feet he knew that he'd made the right decision – still, he'd have to get closer to make sure that she wasn't actually trying to injure or capture Kaname.

"Kaname?" the busty girl ask.

"Narusegawa-sempai?" the blue haired girl returned as she accepted the other girl's hand. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that pervert bothering you?" the curvy girl asked as she noted how close the scruffy Sagara was to them.

Forcing a weak smile to her face Kaname chuckled. "Hehehe, he's here with me," she replied, her voice growing softer with each word.

"Shit," the auburn haired girl cursed, "we should get out of here."

Kaname noted that several people were starting to look at them, more so the girls than the odd boy. Nodding, she grabbed Sagara's hand as the auburn haired girl pulled her cap down to hide her face.

Not sure what was going on, Sagara simply followed. If this girl was a threat than he'd take her down when she made a move - doing anything less than that would incur Kaname's wraith. For now he would simply sit back and follow.

X X X X X

There were few people in the world that could endure the frigid temperatures of the room. Seeing his nearly frozen breath hanging in the air the young minister and general boldly strode into the room. As the leader of the Phoenix people, Saffron was immune to both heat and cold, though few of his minions and vassals shared that immunity. Still, even he knew better than to grab the source of the cold.

Walking up to the small tank that emitted a golden-red light he nodded at his most trusted and powerful guardian. The girl turned Asura was the only person other than himself who could handle the sacred flame.

"You know what must be done Rogue," the young man who would be king stated.

The Asura nodded as she confidently walked up to the tank. Setting four of her hands on each corner of the tank she reached in with her remaining two arms, grasping the flame inside the frigid water. Slowly she began to absorb the flames into her body.

All around them the effects could be seen as the temperature of the air in the room warmed. The frozen walls began to thaw and cold water dripped from the icicles that lined the ceiling.

The fiery haired Asura stated as she removed her hands from the now boiling water, "It is time."

The pair marched towards the lone entrance of the room, each step bringing renewed heat to the once frozen room. Despite the trickling water none of it touched the fiery Asura's bare feet as she walked as the water evaporated around her. By the time they reached the doorway the entire room was dry.

"Taro," the young man barked as he eyed his personal guard. Though he was the strongest of the Phoenix people, his position in the senate with the Democratic Chinese Alliance demanded that he have some body guards. "You will accompany Rogue once she cools down. Until then provide her with whatever she needs."

X X X X X

There were few times in the past year that Ranma was actually glad to have his cursed form. Not only had he been able to use it to confuse Ryoga countless times, but it also allowed him to mooch extra servings from the male clerks at the many stores he frequented in his cursed form. And of course it had been useful in hiding himself from his mother when he had thought that she'd think less of him for his gender changing curse.

While he generally preferred his true male form, Ranma couldn't help but wonder at the wisdom of bleaching and then dying his hair. True, it did look good, but he couldn't help but scratch his head as the combined chemicals had done a number on his scalp. Without the special mousse and other hair care products he was constantly scratching his head, and the girls were getting tired of all the dandruff blizzards that he left in his wake.

And the fact that he was traveling with other martial artists who knew he was actually a guy inside a girl's body helped too as Kanako, Motoko, and Ryoko didn't try to drag him to do girly things with them and Keitaro wasn't trying to hit on him. Yes, Ranma found that he could actually enjoy being in his female form.

Still, being one of four girls with one guy around did have its draw backs. Though he'd been led to believe that girls were forced to travel in packs and occasionally with a male escort to be safe, it was hard to not attract attention as the four lovely young ladies and their lone male companion drew more than their fair share of unwanted attention.

"Hey buddy," a large brute said as he and his thuggish buddies stood before them, "why not share the love?"

Seeing how Keitaro moved Ranma knew that the older boy was used to handling situations like this. Still, Ranma couldn't let this slide.

Stepping out from the other girls Ranma looked the guy over. "I don't know," Ranko said as she appraised the startled leather wearing thug. "You look strong, but only a man amongst men could handle a delicate flower like me."

"Hehe," the lead thug chuckled, "baby, I am a man amongst men."

"Really?" the redhead exclaimed. "Than show me how strong you are!"

Smirking, the punk took a step towards Keitaro.

"If you're really a man amongst men, than you can take out those punks easily," Ranko teased coyly as she pointed at the gang of toughs that followed the lead punk.

The muscular punk stared at his gang of six.

"B-Boss?" the apparent second in command exclaimed as he took a step back.

"Sorry boys," the lead thug said as he cracked his knuckles.

"I think we should go now," Ranko whispered as the punk turned on his companions.

The other girls nodded.

X X X X X

The overcast sky and cool, humid breeze greeted the trio as they wandered through the shops. Though they had all purchased their new uniforms they each felt the need to stay away from Nerima for a while.

As the tallest of the three Konatsu could easily see over the crowd and his keen martial artist's eyes allowed him to pick out various faces in the crowd. But it was one particular face that stood out to him – Keitaro Urashima. If he was here he'd at least have news of his sister.

"Hey, it looks like there's a fight over there," Nabiki stated as she craned her neck to get a better view.

X X X X X

"Narusegawa-sempai," Kaname exclaimed as the trio finally managed to find a quiet spot away from prying eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way back from cram school," the auburn haired beauty stated.

Sagara looked her over. Though she was an attractive young woman, it was clear that she wasn't trying to look very appealing. Then again, she was traveling by herself and the best way to avoid being hit on was to make oneself appear less appealing. The unruly braids, thick glasses, and baseball cap combined with the baggy sweater and less than flattering jogging pants under her skirt just screamed 'ugly'.

"What are you doing here?" Naru asked the younger girl. "Are you two on a date?"

Kaname stiffened.

"So you've finally let a guy like that take you out," the older girl teased. "I'm surprised, a beautiful girl like you could have your pick of any guy you wanted, but I guess you just want to feel safe and secure."

Snapping to attention, as if to prove the older girl's point, Sousuke pressed himself against the wall. Alerted by the sound of footsteps he moved to catch their pursuer.

Suddenly the sound of voices approaching them from the other entrance made Sagara reconsider his positioning as he realized that they were boxed in. Putting his hand on his Grande Puissance 35 he prepared for the worst.

"I know you could have handled them," a feminine voice stated as it bounced off the cold concrete walls of the room, "but this way we don't have to get our hands dirty. Those punks completely forgot about us once their boss started bashing in their faces."

"I still can't believe you got them to fight each other," another feminine voice chimed in.

Emerging from the shadows on the other end of the room were four teenaged girls and one young man.

"Chidori?" the taller redheaded girl exclaimed as she recognized the teal haired girl.

"Mitsurugi?" the busty teal haired girl replied.

"Urashima?" the girl in glasses exclaimed.

"Narusegawa?" the lithe girl responded. Though she looked, well, less attractive, than her otherworld self, Kanako was positive that it was Naru. As an expert in dressing up and make up she could clearly see the distinctive facial features that linked the two girls.

"Um," the shorter redhead interjected, "do you all know each other?"

"Narusegawa-sempai is a senior at Jindai," Ryoko stated. "And Kaname Chidori is on the student council, she's also in Class 3A which is right next door to my homeroom, Class 3C. And that's Sousuke Sagara, the bane of the school."

Ranko looked over the scarred boy. "Bane?"

"He and the martial arts otaku Issei Tsubaki nearly destroyed the school when they were supposed to be helping the groundskeeper," Ryoko explained. "Then there was the whole incident where the military otaku shot his gun during lunch and caused a stamped that injured the bread vendors. The student council had to sell bread for a week but each time Sagara kept booby trapping the food."

Chidori didn't even bother to defend the boy as she buried her face in her hand.

"Then there was that incident," Ryoko shuddered.

"You mean he's the guy who unleashed that biological weapon that at everyone's clothes?" Keitaro exclaimed.

"That was you!" Naru shouted as she turned on Sagara. "Because of you my career as a Gravure Idol nearly ended!"

Keitaro's eyes bulged. "You mean you're _Naru Narusegawa_! The underaged Gravure Idol Naru Narusagawa!"

"You're just lucky that that stupid bio-weapon thingy of yours consumed all petroleum products – cell phone cameras included!"

"I'm just glad I was wearing all cotton that day," Ryoko whispered. "But the girls were trying to get me undressed because they didn't want me to be excluded."

Ranma blinked as he took in everything. Slowly he turned to Kanako, "I bought cotton, right?"

# # # # #

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Notes –

Pretty sure I stated this in the last chapter, but I've adjusted dates/timeline so that Ranma is 16 in 1998. Kaname Chidori, Sousuke Sagara, Motoko Aoyama, Ryoko Mitsurugi, Konatsu Tendo and Kanako Urashima are all 16. Naru Narusegawa is 17, and Keitaro Urashima and Kurz Weber are both 20.

Please read and review.

# # # # #

It wasn't hard for Hinata to slip out of the Hinata Sou, given all the chaos that his cousin had stirred with the residents. In truth she wasn't sneaking out of the Hinata Sou, just to one of the more secret rooms inside the huge complex. Though part of her couldn't help but feel a little bit of regret, the wise old woman knew that things had gone over her head.

Making sure that no one spotted her, the clever old woman slipped into a secret passage, one of many that only she knew about and which she made sure no one would be able to find casually or accidentally. Pressing her palm to the scanner she craned her neck so that the retinal scanner could also read her eyes.

"Hinata Urashima," the male mechanical voice chirped, confirming her identity. The sound of a fake rock wall sliding away greeted the woman as she stepped away from the scanners. Slipping through the tiny opening she heard it close behind her.

The darkness of the room suddenly vanished as the computers inside came to life. The giant flat screen lit up as did various buttons along the giant control panel. A fuzzy picture of a grizzled, gray haired Caucasian man appeared on the screen.

"Urzu-1," he said, "what a surprised. I thought you retired."

"I did," Hinata Urashima replied, "but I stumbled upon something big. I need your help Kalinin - I need Mithril's help."

X X X X X

Konatsu was not happy. Though he'd caught sight of Keitaro, the genius martial artist hadn't been able to follow after him as Nabiki got caught up in watching the fight between the local thugs. Even though he knew his sisters could handle themselves Konatsu knew that he couldn't disobey his father's orders. Leaving them alone was simply not an option, especially after what happened the other day with the Nerima Guardians.

Leading his siblings away he hoped that Keitaro and the others hadn't gone too far. If they were simply out shopping like he was than they probably weren't, but still…

# # # # #

"Please reconsider," the young vice captain of the Furinkan Kendo team pleaded as he groveled before the youngest Tendo daughter. "With Captain Kuno injured and Ranma currently off on training, you're the only person who can lead the Kendo Team right now. I'm sure that with you leading us we'd surely win the Kuno Invitational."

Looking down at the semi-pathetic boy Akane couldn't help but feel a bit moved. Despite her lingering injuries and the fact that Ranma was still missing, the youngest Tendo daughter knew that she needed to help her school. True, Ranma and Kuno were the best options, but both were not able to do so. Then again, this was the kendo team…

"As the Acting-Captain you would get your own room," Kenji stated as he stared at the wooden floor. "And it's in Nerima so you wouldn't have to travel far."

"Fine," the short haired girl sighed. "I'll go."

X X X X X

Keitaro couldn't help it. Though years of training had reinforced the idea that he needed to be able to stay cool, calm and collected, the young Urashima heir couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. There she was, just a meter or so away from him – Naru Narusegawa – the most famous and youngest of the Gravure Idols.

How could he not steal sideways glances at her? Though he'd seen photos of her in her skimpy outfits seeing her in person was another thing altogether. Walking behind the girls it wasn't hard for him to get a nice view of her profile. Even though she wore the baggy clothes and wore those thick glasses, and those double pony-tails…

Yes, it was a good thing that he was walking behind the girls.

X X X X X

Kurz was bored. Having been ditched by Sousuke the blond sniper decided to get fitted for his new school uniform. Though he was technically listed as a German in college in America who wanted to study the Japanese school system, he was listed at his current age of 19. Creating the cover and bogus background though had been necessary as he'd previously been seen by several of Kaname and Sagara's classmates during a previous trip to Japan.

Finished with the fitting he decided to just come back tomorrow to pick up the four outfits (two of each summer and winter uniforms).

Deciding to try and flirt with some of the local girls he was interrupted by the sudden buzzing from his specially issued cell phone. Flipping the phone open he glanced at the screen. 'Contact with your target,' he read the short message. Leave it to Sagara to not use texting lingo. Checking the signal from Sousuke's GPS tracker the blond looked at the map on his screen.

Maybe he wouldn't have to spend the day trying to find girls to hit on.

X X X X X

"So he's your, what, guard-dog?" Ranko asked as he glanced back at the boys walking behind the pack of girls.

"Hehe…" Kaname tried to chuckle.

"Actually," Sousuke interrupted, "I was trying to take Kaname to the amusement park to thank her for helping me study for the makeup exams."

"Then why'd you jump on her?" Naru asked as she turned around to face the scarred boy.

"I saw a red spot on her and immediately thought that someone was using a laser sight to take aim at her," he replied honestly. "Not knowing where the shooter was I decided that it was best to simply move her out of the shooter's line of sight."

Naru and Kaname trembled in rage while Keitaro simply nodded in agreement. Ranko simply shrugged. Having rarely faced guns and having endured more punishment than guns and bullets dealt, the pigtailed martial artist wasn't sure what to make of things – on the one hand Sagara did have a point, and this world seriously was fucked up, but were they that bad that random people were subjected to such violence? No, there was definitely something odd about this.

"So, you're both transferring in?" Kaname said quickly, trying to divert attention away from Sousuke and herself.

"Yes," Motoko replied curtly. "I wanted to start the year there but due to the limited number of students that Jindai accepts I failed to make the original cut. I went to St. Bacchus instead, but with the recent openings I was contacted to see if I would be interested in going to Jindai.

"After meeting you two I see why there are so many openings suddenly opening up," the slender kendoka stated. "But it can't be that bad," she added. "If it was then I'm sure Ryoko would have left a while ago."

Again the blue haired girl chuckled nervously.

"I hear there are a lot of new transfers to the school," Narusegawa stated. "You're one too, right?" she asked as she turned to face the shorter Ranko.

The smaller girl nodded. "Yeah."

"Where'd you go before?" Kaname asked.

Ranko shrugged, "I didn't – I just got back to Japan."

"Really?" Sousuke asked, slightly curious.

Kaname eyed the scarred boy. It was odd that he was showing any interest in anyone other than her.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"DCA, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and India," Ranko answered.

"Really, that must have been interesting," Sousuke said.

"Not really," the petit redhead shrugged. "I was a military brat until my parents divorced. Mom decided to send me back to live with her family since pops is currently deployed to Korea."

Motoko glanced between the smaller redhead and the scarred boy, slightly amazed that Ranma had remembered her cover story that well.

"You're father's American?" Sousuke asked.

"Yeah," Ranko shrugged.

"I see… I just noticed the Caucasian features," he mumbled.

"And you're - what, part Afghani?" Ranko asked, not sure if he had the right term.

Sousuke froze. Few people had ever noticed the slight features that were common amongst those who lived in the middle east as him grandmother and great-grandparents had. "Affirmative," he replied.

Ranko smiled; a slight gleam of victory in his eyes as the scarred boy conceded this round of personality chess. Yes, the boy had been fishing for information and appeared to have backed Ranko into a corner, yet the quick yet clearly thought out answers made it very believable. And seizing upon the boy's fairly distinct features had definitely caught Sousuke off guard.

Seeing the look in the other boy's eyes though Ranko knew that this was far from over.

X X X X X

The soft glow of LED lighting gave the fair skinned young man a livelier glow than he normally had as he stared at the screen before him. Reading over the information that his spy had provided him he wondered just how much Mithril knew about this Ranko Mitsurugi and what possible connection she had to this Ranma Saotome.

Looking at the obviously fake id, he smirked, "December 24th, 1982."

Reading over the short report on Genma Saotome's deceased son he blinked, "December 24th, 1982." Sitting at attention, he scrolled down to the boy's obituary. Glossing over the details of his death the silver-gray haired young man focused on the date – September 13th, 1988.

"September 13th, 1988," he mumbled. '_Why is that day important?_'

X X X X X

Despite the oddities of some of the members of their group, Ranko found that traveling with a larger group made it a lot easier for them. The larger group that now consisted of Ranko, Motoko, Kanako, Ryoko, Keitaro, Naru, Kaname, and Sagara made it hard for even large groups of guys to just walk over and start hitting on the various girls. True, Sousuke and Keitaro were forced to walk behind them but the half dozen girls were more than enough to deter any groups of guys from coming over though it clearly was not enough to stop the leering or cat-calls from some of the less savory boys.

"Hey Sagara!" an energetic youth shouted as he waved at the scarred boy.

Said scarred boy immediately stood straight as a board as the familiar blond rushed to join him.

"You," Ranko said as she pointed at the guy, "you're the pervert with the mirrors!"

The blond immediately froze.

Motoko and Ryoko quickly grabbed Ranko, covering her mouth and moving the smaller girl away from the many eyes now looking at the group. Ignoring the odd looks that people were giving them, the large group moved away from the prying eyes of everyone around them. Once again in a more secluded area Ranko glared at the others as they released her.

"Hehe," the blond boy chuckled as he scratched his head, "I guess you're the one who took them."

The shorter redhead glared at the blond boy. "You do that again and I'll force feed you your mirrors."

"Don't worry," Kaname said as she glared at the boy, "I'll make sure he doesn't get out of line."

"Hehe…" Kurz chuckled weakly.

"Kanako! Keitaro!" another voice cried out, breaking the odd tension in the group.

While everyone else turned to face the new comers Ranko grabbed Kanako's arm.

"Konatsu Tendo, Akane Tendo, and Nabiki Tendo," she whispered as she refrained from waving at the trio of Tendos.

Ranko nodded. "We stayed with them the other night."

"What are you guys doing here?" Akane asked as she approached the large group.

"Shopping," Motoko replied.

"Uniforms?" the observant Nabiki asked as she spotted the bag that Ranko was holding. "You're going to Jindai too?"

The shorter redhead nodded.

"We're starting there on Monday," Motoko stated.

"So am I," the blond boy added. "Kurz Weber," he said as he smiled his winning smile at the Tendo girls.

"He's actually here to study Japan's high school system," Kaname stated. "He's going to participate in what we consider a 'regular high school' experience."

"Oh, you're not a regular student?" Keitaro asked.

"This is Keitaro Urashima," Kanako stated as she introduced her adopted brother to the blond. "He's a student at Todai."

"You go to Todai?" Naru exclaimed.

Keitaro blushed.

"I'm in my first year," he muttered under his breath.

"Hey," Kurz blurted, "we're all done with shopping, right? Why don't we all get something to eat and get to know each other? I mean, most of us are going to be seeing each other at school and there are a few of us who already go to Jindai, right?"

Unable to deny the logic of it, Ranko hoped that someone else would object. Seeing that no one else cared to give voice to any objections, the petit redhead sighed as she was dragged to a karaoke bar.

# # # # #

Shampoo was not happy. For two days she had gone without seeing her beloved Airen, and then there was the fact that she'd been too busy opening, operating, and closing the Cat Café that she hadn't had the time to even got to the Tendo's where Ranma usually resided. Oh, and Mousse was missing too.

Cleaning up the shop early she hoped that she'd be able to at least be able to sneak over to the Tendo house and catch sight of him. Only the sound of her grandmother's familiar cane hitting the polished wooden floor told her that she wouldn't be able to do that. Ever the hardworking woman, Cologne never liked to close the shop early. More than likely the Amazon elder would end up lecturing and eventually beating Shampoo for the transgression.

"Shampoo!" the shriveled old woman shouted.

"Yes Grandmother," the violet haired girl replied as she rushed to the empty café.

"I need you to go to China," the venerable woman stated.

That was not what Shampoo had expected. "Why Grandmother?"

"If you truly value Ranma's life, you will go to Phoenix Mountain and bring back the Demon's Tear."

X X X X X

The sound of blasting beats and electronic music filled the fairly cramped room as the dozen youths partied. With two of their number being legal adults it wasn't hard for them to acquire some alcohol. With two more days until school started Ranma couldn't help but enjoy the company of his companions even though he was in his female form.

"You've got no shot," Konatsu stated as he mock whispered to the blond boy. Slightly drunk and more than a bit toasted, he couldn't help but notice the way that Kurz was stealing glances at Ryoko and Ranko.

"Whadda ya mean?" the equally drunk Japanese born German asked.

Leaning in close, the young Tendo sighed, "Those three are lesbians." Though he used a one and pitch that was anything but soft, their conversation was drowned out by Ranko, Motoko, and Ryoko as they drunkenly sang on the stage.

"Really?" the blond replied, all the more interested as images of the three very attractive girls floated through his mind. "I thought all Japanese girls were, you know, just like that" he pointed at the fairly flirty and touchy trio of girls as the two taller girls sandwiched the smaller girl between them.

Konatsu blinked. He'd never thought about it that way before. Aside for Kanako and his sisters, who were far from being your typical Japanese girls, Konatsu really didn't know any girls other than the orphans he worked with or hung out with and they were pretty much oddities like Konatsu and Kanako had been.

Glancing at the adopted Urashima he wondered if perhaps there wasn't more to girls than he realized.

X X X X X

There were days that the young detective hated his job. Today was one of those days. With so many schools out for mid-term exams Hibiki Yoshimida knew that there would be more than enough incidents with disrespectful youths acting up. But this, this was on a whole other scale.

"Could you repeat that?" he asked the slightly battered young clerk.

"This kid barged in here," the clerk replied.

"What'd he look like?"

"He was a martial artist."

"He looked like a martial artist?"

"He said he was one. He said his name was Ranma Saotome."

The young detective eyed the clerk.

"He said he was Ranma Saotome, and that he if anyone doubted him he'd prove it to us. When some of the guys from the various Kendo teams came over things got messy. This kid, this Ranma Saotome, started beating everyone up. He was unstoppable. There are over a hundred and fifty kendoka here for the Kuno Industries Invitational and now every one of them has some major injury. They won't be able to compete in their respective regional tournaments next week.

"I know people hate martial artists, but this wasn't an organized attack – this was one guy named Ranma Saotome viciously manhandling over a hundred and fifty kendoka!"

Detective Yoshimida nodded. "What did he look like?"

"Roguishly handsome, muscular but flexible, he was wearing a dark red shirt and black silk pants," the young clerk replied.

"Do you have any security cameras?"

The clerk nodded. "We've got several of the lobby, three on the front desk, and five in the parking lot."

The detective nodded. "Of course we'll need access to all footage."

X X X X X

Keitaro Urashima was having the time of his life. True, he was in a karaoke bar singing and listening to songs that he really didn't care for, but he was spending time with his favorite gravure idol – Naru Narusegawa. As a dedicated martial artists in this modern world Keitaro was both a scholar and a fighter, training his mind and his body to be a better martial artist. Unfortunately the time he'd dedicated to training his body and mind had resulted in him not training and developing his social skills beyond being a wallflower.

The fact that he was sitting so close to the beautiful auburn haired girl proved to be the hardest thing he'd ever endured as he fought the conflicting urge to stare at her and the urge to simply give in to the giddiness that threatened to overwhelm him.

"So what's Todai like?" the vision of beauty beside him asked as she looked at him through her thick glasses.

"It's a lot of work," he replied as he glanced down at his beer, stealing a glance at her as he did so. Though she wore baggy clothes, thick glasses, and had her hair up in two thick braids he could clearly see the beautiful features that she was trying so hard to hide. As one of the many hundreds, perhaps thousands if not millions, who possessed each set of her photo sets he couldn't help but see her full breasts, flat stomach, shapely thighs and firm behind even as she sat in her frumpy disguise.

Knowing what she looked like outside of her current outfit he couldn't help but envision her in the skimpy pink and yellow bikini that she'd recently worn in her latest photo set. Yet despite his considerable collection of her pictures she was the only gravure idol that he didn't think of when he relieved himself. Though he knew that there were plenty of guys who did, Keitaro just couldn't bring himself to do that to her pictures or even the thought of her – it just seemed, well, wrong to him.

"It's worth it though," he added as he lifted his mug to his lips.

Her tentative, shy smile was all the reward he needed as she glanced at him. "Oh, why's that? You find yourself a beautiful girlfriend at Tokyo University?"

Keitaro nearly spit out the mouthful of beer in his mouth as he momentarily lost control.

"He doesn't have a girl," Ranko stated though it seemed like the redhead was teasing him. A powerful slap to Keitaro's back brought the older boy to his senses. "Keitaro's been pining for a girl he doesn't even know," the slightly drunk redhead stated. "He made a promise to a girl he doesn't even remember to go to Tokyo University but since he's there now he doesn't know what to do."

Not sure what to make of the information, Naru simply stared at the short redheaded girl and then at Keitaro. "I think that's kinda sweet actually."

X X X X X

There were certain advantages to being the captain of an ultra secret submarine belonging to an above top secret organization as Tessa was quickly finding out. One such perk was having access to all the news channels that even the best cable, satellite, or other television providers couldn't provide.

Looking at the various reports about a boy named 'Ranma Saotome' who had recently attacked virtually all the participating kendoka who were invited to participate in the Kuno Industries Invitational Tessa wondered if perhaps there was more to this Ranma Saotome than just a name. Clearly this was a skilled martial artist, something that hadn't been seen in over a decade since the incident involving the other Ranma and Genma Saotome.

"Send SRT team 3 to investigate," the silver-grey haired girl stated as she looked up at the gruff old veteran. "I want to know if this has anything to do with the other incident or if this is just someone lashing out at martial artists."

# # # # #

She couldn't help but feel more than a bit nervous. Though this event was being sponsored and hosted by Kuno Industries the young heir to the Kuno Zaibatsu was not going to be able to attend due to injuries that he'd recently attained as a result of recent sparring. Still, Motoko Aoyama couldn't help but feel a bit distracted. Not only did she know the truth about Tatewaki Kuno's injuries, but she had been present at the time it had happened.

But it was because she knew the truth behind things that her appearance at the invitation only tournament was all the more significant. As the captain of St. Bacchus School for Girls' kendo team she was expected to participate in the tournament as well as lead the all girl team as they prepared for the upcoming regional tournaments.

Not to mention that with her room marked as one of the handful of existing portals to the other world and to avoid Ranma (and Kanako) accidentally appearing when she was indecent or sleeping, the trip into Nerima for the Kuno Invitational provided her with alternative housing for at least the weekend. As the team captain she was allowed to have her own room, which would prove to be a blessing as she'd had little time to sleep over the past few days. And there were the lingering injuries that she'd endured in her fight with Akane Tendo – those she definitely did not want anyone to see.

Grabbing some things Motoko knew that she'd miss the Hinata Sou's open air baths even though she'd only be gone over the weekend. But at least the food would be better as Keitaro and Su had very different tastes than she did.

Shaking her head, Motoko resolved to make the most of the weekend away from the Hinata Sou.

# # # # #

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Notes –

Yes, the previous chapters lacked some meat, but they were important. Now, to get back to what we've all been waiting for.

# # # # #

Kalinin was not happy. Though Mithril and its handful of operative were supposed to be impartial and there was little for them to do in the past ten or so years, not since they had intervened and destroyed that prototype in Russia. True, they helped keep the peace but there had been little action outside of keeping the kingdom of Molomol from accidentally being destroyed by the insane and unstable inventions that the youngest princess of that nation was prone to create.

But this request from one of the original SRT members in regards to her grandson, well, this was unusual. Mithril was supposed to handle technological issues, but after dealing with Molomol they'd slowly started dabbling with magical ones when they were brought to light. If Urzu-1's reports were to believed then this was one of those rare cases where they would need to step in.

"Urzu-3," he said as he addressed the young man wearing the beaten lab coat, "as our foremost expert on magic and magical artifacts we're temporarily recalling you to active duty."

The lean man nodded, "And my daughter?"

"You may leave her with Urzu-1, she does run an all girls' dormitory; she should be able to house your daughter for the duration of this mission."

The lean man nodded. Though he was a slightly respected archeologist he knew that even he couldn't afford to pay for all his research from just the donated funds. If not for his freelancing contract with the secret organization he would have been left to simply teach and not allowed to go on any of his outrageous digs. "Fine," he replied, "but I want double the pay."

Kalinin stood firm, "Standard pay – Urzu-1 has already agreed to have your daughter put up at her dormitory."

"It's going to be very hazardous," the secret agent stated.

"You should have dated Urzu-1's adopted daughter than," the gruff Russian stated.

Shrugging, the lean man nodded. "Fine, I'll take the job."

X X X X X

"Augh," the currently blond martial artist groaned, "it feels like Ryoga was force feeding me Akane's cooking."

Even fully awake as he was, Ranma couldn't open his eyes.

"Too much to drink?" Eishun asked as he entered the open air bath.

"Never drank before," Ranma replied.

"Ah," the old mage sighed, "the first time's always rough."

Had his eyes been open Ranma would have seen Keitaro nodding in agreement.

"At least you're not throwing up," the older boy stated.

Happosai shook his head as he looked at the youngsters, "That was only beer – wait till you get some hot sake in you."

Ranma lowered himself deeper into the hot water.

"Anyways, I should warn you," the old grandmaster said, quickly changing the subject. "There's someone out there pretending to be you. I'm not sure if he's got any connections to Genma, but clearly he doesn't mind using your name."

Ranma slowly pried one eye open as he looked at the ancient martial artists.

"Several young martial artists from the Alliance were invited to participate in the Kuno Industries' Invitational," Happosai stated.

"It's the last big tournament before the regional tournaments," Keitaro elaborated.

"Yeah, we got one of those where I come from too," Ranma stated.

"Anyways, the ones who were there said that someone claiming to be 'Ranma Saotome' demanded to see how good the gathered kendoka were," the tiny man stated. "He viciously man-handled over a hundred and fifty participants – whoever he is, he's good."

Ranma shrugged. "I'm still better. You got any idea who it is though?"

Eishun shook his head, "We're still working on that. There is footage of the incident, but the quality of the pictures is on the low end considering that it was shot with a cell phone."

Ranma blinked his one eye. "You mean you phones can take pictures?"

Keitaro sighed. "They can even take videos and send them to other phones or via email."

"What's 'email'?"

X X X X X

Chill, frigid air filled the front room of the Tendo compound as the Tendo Patriarch stared down at the young man claiming to be Ranma Saotome. It was the second time in a week that this had happened, and clearly the powerful young man before him knew that he wasn't the real Ranma Saotome, merely just using the name to draw out the man who had created and killed the real Ranma Saotome.

"So my 'old man' hasn't been around here," the youth stated as he looked around.

"Of course not," Soun replied. "There is no love lost between the two of us – after all, I was one of the martial arts masters who drove him out of Japan and helped to capture him."

The muscular youth nodded, "All the more reason for him to come here in search of revenge against his former friend."

X X X X X

Kanako was still getting used to this parallel world. Though it was very similar to the one she knew, there were many glaring differences. Looking at what passed for master martial artists in this world she knew that she was at least on that level though in her own world she was merely an expert martial artist. The fact that this Keitaro Urashima was able to beat her though spoke volumes about how dedicated he was to the art unlike her Keitaro who was still working on entering Todai and lacked the training needed to be even considered as skilled in the Urashima style.

Then there was this world's Naru Narusegawa – the famous gravure idol who didn't care about being objectified so long as it was on her terms, thus robbing the very sexist society of its power over her while also hiding herself behind her baggy clothes so as to avoid being harassed in public.

The differences between the two parallel versions of the two were mind boggling.

And then there was the technology. Sure, the crazy girl Su was capable of creating some insane things, but those inventions were unstable and unpredictable. The technology of this world was decades ahead of what her Japan had and almost everyone had access to it. In her world only the richest people had a cell phone, but here, everyone had one.

Unused to the unfamiliar vibrating of her alternate's cell phone; Kanako was startled when the tiny device stirred in her bag.

"That's your cell phone," Motoko stated as she reached into the other girl's bag and pulled out the red and silver device. "'Found Ranma Saotome – Tendo Dojo'," she read.

Not sure what was going on, the slender kendoka grabbed the lithe girl's hand and rushed towards the lounge.

"What's going on?" Ryoko asked.

"Konatsu says they found Ranma Saotome," Motoko replied. "Where's Master Happosai?"

Rushing to keep up with the other girls the busty kendoka scanned her memory, "They're in the baths."

X X X X X

A sharp pain lanced through the young man's side even as the air in his lungs was forcibly expelled. Dazed by the punch he barely realized that he was now laying crumpled beside the cement wall, a good ten meters away from where his assailant stood when he'd been hit.

"This is the best that the famous Tendo family has to offer," the young man claiming to be Ranma Saotome sneered. "Clearly the Saotome School is much stronger."

"You bastard!" an angry voice cried out. Leaping from her room on the second floor the youngest Tendo swung a powerful punch at her brother's attacker.

"You shouldn't have announced yourself," the young man stated as he swatted the girl aside with a wave of his hand.

X X X X X

"Ma'am," the officer at the helm said as he looked up from his station, "there are reports from our men around the Hinata Sou of a martial artist leaping from building to building."

"Excuse me," the silver-grey haired girl exclaimed.

"Putting it up on the monitor," the helmsman stated as he patched in the images from the operative trying to keep track of the roof hopping martial artist.

"Is that even possible?" the young captain asked.

"Is it possible that a martial artist could stop an AS with his bare hands?" Kalinin asked as he stood beside Tessa.

"What teams do we have available?"

"I'll redeploy SRT 2," the gruff Russian stated.

X X X X X

As an experienced martial artist it didn't take long for Ranma to lose the tails he'd grown since leaving the Hinata Sou. Though he didn't doubt his ability to run straight from the Hinata Sou to the Tendo Dojo the bleach blond martial artists doubted that he'd be able to handle any extra surprises if he did just that.

What did surprise him was that Keitaro and Kanako were able to keep up with him. True, they weren't roof hopping but they did know the lay of the land better than he did, allowing them to make it to the train station just as Ranma jumped through the doors of the last carriage.

"Did you…" Keitaro gasped for breath, "have to run so fast?"

"You're a maniac," Kanako huffed as she took a seat beside Keitaro.

Ranma simply sat down, conserving his energy.

"Why you so concerned about this?" the runty older boy asked as he glanced at Ranma.

"Whoever's doing this is sullying my good name," he grumbled.

Kanako shook her head, "Your name's already sullied in this world. Why would you care if someone else drags it through the mud?"

"It's happened before in the other world," Ranma stated. "Guy named Ryu Kumon faked being me in hopes of finding my old man. He fooled my mom and I had to fight him."

Both Urashimas looked at him.

"Well? What happened?" Keitaro asked.

"My old man created a secret technique, had two separate schools of it," the blond boy stated. "He had the more powerful and destructive art, but my old man kept the higher art."

"Higher art?" Kanako asked.

"Yeah," the blond stated, "it was designed specifically to as a counterpart to the Yamasenken but also could be used to specifically counter it. The Umisenken, or 1000 Seas is the way of the silent thief, whereas the Yamasenken, or 1000 Mountains, is the art of the forceful robber. But during the process of learning the styles you tend to destroy a house in the process.

"Anyways, just over ten years ago my old man gave his old man the Yamasenken, and old man Kumon used it but…"

"He destroyed his dojo," Kanako finished.

Ranma nodded, "Yeah, died in the collapsed building. Ryu vowed to find the Umisenken scroll so that he could restore his family's dojo and that brought him to my mom."

"So you think this guy is going after other martial artists to draw out your old man?" Keitaro asked.

Ranma shook his head, "No, I'm not sure. This world is a lot darker than mine. The Tatewaki Kuno of this world is a rapist bastard who won't hesitate to resort to cheap tricks to beat up a girl. If this Ryu Kumon is anywhere near as bad as Kuno, well, I don't know what he's capable of. The Yamasenken is a brutal technique and I'm the only one who can defeat him without getting hurt."

X X X X X

Kurz was not happy. Not only was he slightly drunk, but now he wasn't even being allowed to recover from a night out. Rushing to his observation post he was consoled by the fact at least he wasn't the only one who was being forced out of bed at such a late hour.

Beside him his longtime squad mate checked his inventory even as he ran beside him.

Sighing, the Japanese born German ran hard. If they were lucky they'd be able to get into position in time. But judging from the supposed speed that the martial artist was supposed to be going at he doubted that they'd be able to catch up with the mysterious guy.

X X X X X

"Ma'am," the helmsman said as he looked up at the young captain, "there are reports of fighting from inside the Tendo Compound."

The petit silver-grey haired girl sat at attention. "Do we have a visual?"

"No ma'am," the helmsman stated. "Our surveillance team can only hear the sounds of fighting."

"SRT 2 reports that the martial artists are headed towards the Tendo's dojo," Kalinin stated. "Or they are at least headed towards Nerima."

Tessa nodded her head. "Tell all units to observe only – we don't want to get involved if we don't have to."

X X X X X

There were few things that Akane hated. First and foremost was her hatred for all perverts which stemmed from her sordid history with Tatewaki Kuno. Also stemming from her long history with the heir to the Kuno Zabatsu was her hatred for losing. With the kendoka and his gang constantly following her and harassing her it had become ingrained in the youngest Tendo daughter that she couldn't lose to anyone who wasn't part of her family as such a loss could easily mean that Kuno and his horde would have their way with her.

It was that hatred that prompted her to stand up despite the beating she'd endured at the hands of this 'Ranma Saotome'.

In fact it was the second time in just the past week that she'd faced off against someone named Ranma Saotome. The first had not gone well either as that Ranma Saotome had dexterously avoided her attacks even as he brushed her aside casually. This Ranma Saotome, though, was throwing her around like a rag doll. It didn't help that he was also throwing around her adopted brother as well.

Still, the stubborn girl forced herself to her feet before adopting a typical karate stance. Slowly she inched towards her opponent as she maintained that stance.

"You think you can win with moves like that?" Ranma Saotome taunted. "You're moving like a first year blue belt."

An almost casual stab with left drew blood as the dark haired boy dug his fingers between Akane's ribs.

"So, you're 'Ranma Saotome'?" a new voice questioned from above. Looking down at the boy in a blue-grey Chinese Style silk vest and matching pants something about this fighter was familiar. Shaking his head, Ranma wondered just how different this Ryu Kumon was from the one he had bested not too long ago.

"And who are you?" the dark haired martial artists replied as he pushed the battered girl away.

"I'm the real Ranma Saotome," the blond proclaimed.

The dark haired fighter leapt at the blond, opening with a fierce front kick combined with two horizontal slashing chops.

"So, you know the 'Fierce Tiger Open-Gate Blast," the blond yawned as he nimbly avoided the powerful attack and slipping behind the powerful fighter. A series of lightning quick blows to the back sent the dark haired fighter falling to the ground. "Too bad the 'Strike of the Spitting White Snake' is the perfect counter to the Yamasenken style."

Instinctively the other fighter moved to sweep the blond Ranma's feet out from under him, forcing the blond to leap back.

"You're okay," the blond taunted as he allowed the other fighter to get to his feet. "But I'm the best."

Rushing in Ranma used a modified Fierce Tiger Open-Gate Blast against the imposter, grabbing hold of the other fighter's wrists and pulling his forearms apart before delivering a punishing knee to the other boy's jaw. Releasing the dazed boy's wrists the blond clapped his hands over the other fighter's ears before kicking off.

Staggering from the combined effect of the blows the dark haired Ranma took several tentative steps backwards before finally regaining some semblance of balance and control. Shaking his head he rushed in with several strong stabbing attacks from his powerful fingers.

Dancing around the attacks the blond slipped under the attacks before capturing his opponent's back. Again he reigned blows upon the other fighter's back, throwing the other Ranma off balance and onto the ground. Not wanting to have to resort to the Deep Sea Demon Wrap, Ranma landed squarely on the other fighter's back, knocking the air out of his lungs. Extracting a furoshiki from his sleeve Ranma wrapped it around the other fighter's head and neck before yanking back.

A subtle twist later and the blond Ranma was leaning forward, pulling the dark haired Ranma's head off the ground even as he bent awkwardly backwards. Completing the roll, the blond drove the other fighter's wrapped head into the ground.

Not surprised that this Ryu Kumon wasn't as tough as the other world's Ryu, the blond relaxed his grip on the furoshiki as he felt the other fighter go limp. Other than Keitaro none of the fighters in this world were anywhere near as good as their counterparts in his world. This Ryu Kumon hadn't even managed to rip the furoshiki or used any attacks other than the Fierce Tiger Open-Gate Blast or the Fanged Fingers of Steel Welcome. Still, the guy was tougher than a typical fighter in this world – which really wasn't saying too much.

Soun was surprised at the relative ease that this slightly familiar blond boy had defeated the fake Ranma Saotome, who in turn had easily defeated his adopted son and the most promising of his daughters.

"Huh, you haven't mastered the Yamasenken," the blond Ranma stated as he removed the wrapping from the fallen fighter's head, "Ryu Kumon."

Only it wasn't the ruggedly handsome Ryu who stared up at him. The blond Ranma paused as his mind worked on overdrive to match the facial features with a name. "Ukyo?"

The cross-dressing girl fought hard, restraining her tears. "Who are you?"

"It's me," the blond replied, "Ranma Saotome. My old man took your father's cart as a dowry."

The girl blinked. "Ran-chan?"

"What happened to you?" Ranma asked as he helped his childhood friend to her feet.

"So you two know each other?" Keitaro huffed as he and Kanako finally caught up to the fleet footed Saotome.

Ranma nodded. "She's one of my fiancées."

Kanako blinked, "She?"

X X X X X

"The Belial is complete," the nameless officer stated.

The silver-grey haired youth nodded. "Everything is loaded?"

The nameless officer nodded. "The Lambda Drive will enhance the skeleton so that the extra muscle packs won't break the machine unlike the Behemoth which simply used the Lambda Drive so that it could stand. The muscle packs are going to make the Belial strong enough to lift the Behemoth if anyone tried to make another one."

"And the Eligors?"

"Fifty complete, but we're waiting for more materials before we start with the rest," the petty officer stated. "We've got another fifty Leviathans good to go too, just need to find pilots to test them."

Leonard nodded. Nimbly he pulled out his specially made gun, shooting the officer between the eyes. The resulting splatter from the back of the man's head was testament to the power and speed of the gun as the officer gaped then fell over.

Wiping the blood, brains, and bits of bone off the control panel he typed in a simple command before stepping into the docking bay.

"Sorry Sophia," he stated as he turned on the blood red Belial, "it seems that the Ranma Saotome you want is dead. You'll just have to settle for the runner up."

X X X X X

The wise old woman sighed. Looking at the displays she watched as rogue Amalgam forces under the upstart Leonard Testarossa began to claim various weapons and hidden stores. "So, you've finally made your move," she grumbled. "Orders Mr. Gold?"

The man hidden in shadows simply shook his head. "Have our troops withdraw," he ordered, "but set explosive charges to cover their retreat. We don't want our treacherous Whispered to get his hands on everything he wants, do we Hinata?"

"We wouldn't want that," the venerable old woman stated.

X X X X X

Genma stared at the scene below him. Using the Umisenken he'd easily snuck into the Tendo compound. Seeing the fake Ranma Saotome give the Tendo heirs a thrashing had been interesting, but seeing this other boy who claimed to be Ranma defeat the Yamasenken with some of the Umisenken and modified Yamasenken was very interesting.

Whoever he was, he was good. Perhaps as good as the Master and himself. And he knew the two schools he'd developed in secret. There was only one other person whom he'd given the Yamasenken to, and that man was dead. But how had this blond haired boy learned the Umisenken?

This bore investigating.

# # # # #

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

I'm sick and between painting my house. Deal.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Notes –

Hmm… Not much to day today. The same rules apply – "XXXXX" at the beginning denotes Alternate Dimension/Reality while "#####" is the Home Dimension/Reality.

X X X X X

There were few things in the world that could make Soun Tendo unhappy. Most dealt with bad things happening to his children or wife, but the rare few that didn't all had to do with Genma Saotome. Though he once treasured his time with his old friend and fellow student while they were under Master Happosai's tutelage, few things after their parting of ways were good.

Saotome had always been the better student and martial artist, though he was much more enamored with what the art allowed him to do than following the strict yet twisted code of honor that their master had taught them. His devotion to the art though was what had driven him insane in the end – throwing his own son into a pit of cats in the false hope of having him learn the ultimate art.

But watching the two boys who each claimed to be the real Ranma Saotome fighting in his home (the first of which had bested two of his own children) brought up long forgotten memories and emotions to the Tendo Patriarch. Though he'd seen the devastating moves before, Soun had never been able to develop a counter to them – but Genma to have created the twin styles with one designed to specifically counter the first, well, he couldn't help but be awed by his old friend. Yes, he was proud of what his friend had been able to accomplish, but he was also ashamed at the gap in skill and ability that separated himself and Genma.

The thought that the rogue had spent the past decade honing his skills and body as well as possibly creating new styles sent a chill through his body. Crippled as he was, Soun Tendo knew that he could not defeat his old friend. Perhaps even Happosai could not defeat his former student. That thought terrified him.

Watching as the blond boy and his friends carried the defeated Ranma Saotome off Soun couldn't help but think that if Genma had somehow succeeded in brainwashing one of the children he'd kidnapped then things were apparently going according to the rogue's plans. Had Genma succeeded with more than one child? And what was he planning to do?

# # # # #

Nerima was, well, different. Though she'd only ventured into that ward of Tokyo recently, Motoko could not say that the ward had been very welcoming of her. True, she did meet Ranma, though she still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. There had also been the fight with Akane Tendo, which had been the first time in a long time that she'd been tested like that by anyone outside of the Shinmeiryu. And the last time she checked, ghosts and spirits didn't leave bruises.

With her team meetings and practice sessions over, Motoko had little to do until the tournament actually started in the morning. True, she could go out and mingle with the other teams like so many of her teammates were doing, but seeing the batter acting captain of the Furinkan team again was not something that the slender kendoka wanted. Still, she was expected to at least show up.

Resigned to her fate, Motoko slipped into her school uniform.

X X X X X

In the sixteen plus years that he'd been alive the young martial artist had never ever hated his life or circumstances before. Yes, he had felt bad that he'd failed to realize that Ukyo was a girl as a child and when he'd discovered that he'd wrecked her secret sauce, and of course he dreaded trying Akane's attempts at cooking, but the feeling of – guilt, shame – well, whatever he was feeling as he carried the unconscious Ukyo was making him angry and edgy.

It didn't help that he felt as though something or someone was watching him. He'd gotten that feeling several times at several locations, but those were mostly due to the various security cameras that were around. This feeling though, this one seemed to move with him and was clearly not from just a security camera.

Rushing back to the train station from the Tendo compound Ranma hoped that they wouldn't have to wait long for the next train. Never one to wear a watch before, he still felt odd about wearing the specially made one that the inventive girl Su had provided him, it also didn't help that the watch was slowly becoming brighter and brighter the closer that the group came to the canal in Nerima.

X X X X X

She was a professional. As such Wraith knew when the shit was about to hit the fan. Seeing a virtual army of Bonta-Kun Arm Slaves surrounding the apartment complex that Kaname Chidori lived in was the first sign of trouble. It didn't help that the teal haired Whispered girl's usually present watch dog was called away for a mission, or that his entire team had gone to investigate something.

"This is Wraith," the woman disguised as a man said into her com.

As the true primary guardian for Kaname Chidori the highly trained agent knew that she wasn't supposed to call in unless the situation was dire. Using a secret line that patched her in with the _Tuatha de Danaan_'s captain the operative hoped that they could mobilize a support unit.

"This is Wraith," she repeated, the growing sense of dread growing with each passing second.

Someone should have replied regardless of the late hour. Considering that they had recently ordered Sagara and his team to mobilize the captain should be on the bridge. Something was clearly wrong.

X X X X X

"Sir," the helmsmen shouted, "there's apparently a disturbance in Tokyo Bay, it sounds like there were several explosions and now there's a siren."

The grizzled first officer sighed. This was why he hated this shift. Though the captain trusted everyone onboard things the relatively new first officer was still uncertain about the skeleton crew that was assigned to this shift.

"What's it coming from?" he asked.

"There's no record of any other ships in the bay and everything on the surface looks fine," the helmsmen stated. "I think it's the Toy Box. We've encountered it before, and we know that it's capable of evading our sonar."

"Get the Captain."

# # # # #

"Aoyama!"

The slender kendoka spun around. Though she was not currently surrounded by her fellow teammates Motoko had not expected anyone outside of her team to recognize her.

Yet the energetic redhead that approached her seemed very familiar to her.

"Ryoko Mitsurugi," she said coolly as the other girl stood before her. Though Motoko often felt insecure about her height, standing before the taller and bustier redheaded girl made her feel another feeling altogether.

"Motoko Aoyama," the other girl returned with a smile. "I can't believe you're here."

The slender kendoka nodded, "Well, I am the Captain of St. Bacchus' Kendo Team."

The redhead shook her head. "And here I am only the captain of my year. It's good to see you."

Motoko smiled, "Yes it is."

"It's been, what, nearly ten years?"

X X X X X

If he were an honest man Andrei Sergeivich Kalinin would have admitted that he had actually enjoyed his time aboard the _Tuatha De Danaan_. If he were an honest man he would have admitted to many things, but unfortunately he was not an honest man. Though he had risen up in the ranks of Mithril the gruff former Spetsnaz had been secretly working for Amalgam and more specifically with Leonard Testarossa, the twin brother to Teletha "Tessa" Testarossa. Assigned to watch over the younger twin and even guide her as necessary, it had been his duty to ultimately betray the young captain and Mithril.

The order had come as a surprise, yet considering who had given it Kalinin shouldn't have been surprised. The older Testarossa twin always had a way with surprising everyone.

The handful of Amalgam agents who were loyal to Leonard quickly moved to disrupt the chain of command within the _Tuatha De Danaan_. Having learned a lesson from Gauron's failed attempt to capture the high tech submarine the handful of hidden agents knew that they only needed to disrupt the ship and not actually capture it. Several well paced explosives would disable the ship while allowing them to escape with the information that they needed.

Still, Kalinin had found it necessary to use the young captain as a hostage/shield as he backed out of the sinking submarine.

"Why are you doing this?" the silver-grey haired girl asked as she eyed the remains of the bridge crew.

"You haven't figured it out?" he asked as he stepped through the portal separating the bridge from the rest of the submersible ship.

"You swore to me that you would always support my family," she said as she hesitated.

"In that regard," he said as he pushed her towards the startled crew, "I never lied."

Jumping to the side he slammed his hand on the control panel for the door, forcing it shut. Several shots into the electronic panel insured that the door would be closed long enough for him to escape unimpeded.

# # # # #

Though many at St. Bacchus' School for Girls considered Motoko Aoyama to be a well respected student, few could honestly say that they truly knew her. St. Bacchus' Ice Queen was renowned for being stand-offish and distant even to those closest to her, yet seeing her seemingly warming up to this mysterious kendoka from Daimon High School, the handful of kendoka from St. Bacchus couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship their team captain and idol had with this mysterious girl from another team/school.

Trying to avoid any undue attention the slender kendoka couldn't help but feel the need to get away from the watchful eyes of her fellow teammates. Though she didn't know Nerima, Motoko recalled enough of the district that she didn't feel compelled to simply stay within sight of the hotel where the majority of participants of the invitation only tournament were staying.

"So you're in Tokyo now," the busty redhead stated as she walked beside her childhood friend.

Motoko nodded. "I've been staying in Hinata for the past year," she replied as the pair walked along the canal.

X X X X X

"You!" Ranma shouted as he spotted the now familiar figures of his two supposed classmates. "You've been following me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sagara lied as he eyed the foursome approaching his team.

"We're just enjoying a little stroll," the Japanese born German added as he smiled.

"Don't give me that shit," the agitated martial artist said as he stepped towards the trio. "You were using mirrors to look at, um, Ranko, and you mysteriously showed up before too."

Kurtz glanced at Sagara and Melissa, unsure of what to make of this strange boy.

"What are you doing here anyways?" the squad commander asked.

"So you are following me!" Ranma proclaimed. "And who the hell are you?"

Spotting the small ear piece the martial artist swiftly and nimbly reached in grabbed hold of the tiny technological device. "Who the hell are you listening to?"

Ever vigilant he rushed at Sagara as the scarred boy reached for a weapon. The meter distance gave the experienced soldier just enough time to draw his trusty Glock G22. Unfortunately the blond martial artist proved to be faster as he wrapped his strong hand over Sagara's hand and the gun, preventing the soldier from pulling the gun up to aim. The sound of the gun discharging a single shot was quickly drowned out by the tall woman's scream as Kurz crumpled to the ground lifelessly.

"Duck!" Keitaro warned as he took the unconscious martial artist and jumped behind a wall. Kanako quickly followed suit.

Ranma turned his head, scanning the area. Looking at the gun in his hand Ranma squeezed the trigger only to have it stop as the safety was still on. Someone else had shot at the blond.

Shoving Sagara, Ranma failed to realize that he'd pushed the boy harder than he'd planned to as his adrenaline kicked in, sending the boy tumbling down the grassy knoll. Though he'd never fired a gun in his life Ranma knew that he couldn't take out a sniper without the impersonal ranged weapon.

A second shot rang through the air and the sound of the bullet impacting the now dead body of the blond, hitting it squarely in the chest.

With a better idea of where the shots originated from Ranma scrambled for any available cover. Several shots forced Ranma to abandon his own attempt to seek cover under the bridge as the respective bullets hit the ground before him. Leaping back Ranma suddenly realized that Kanako was still up on the street. Several bullets cut him off from seeking refuge behind the same fence/wall that the other martial artists were hiding behind, forcing Ranma back towards the canal.

The sudden and thick smoke though was unexpected though useful as Sagara hoped to hide his presence under a smoke grenade. Though he was loathed to admit that he couldn't do anything else, Ranma knew that the Saotome's Ultimate Attack was his only option. Hearing several bullets hit the ground around him Ranma rushed through the smoke. Forced to close his eyes against the stinging tear gas grenade he collided with Sagara as he sought some cover. Tumbling down the grassy slope Ranma instinctively landed on his feet with the other boy pinned beneath him.

"Shit!" Sagara exclaimed as he realized that they were no longer under the cover of the smoke.

"Shit!" Ranma exclaimed as he realized just where they were. "Fuck! Who the hell uses tear gas as cover?"

Though he was half blinded by the tear gas Ranma could see that Sagara was wearing a gas mask.

"We need to find cover!" the other boy urged as he squirmed beneath Ranma.

"Dude, you're not in Oz anymore," Ranma stated as he squinted at the now dark watch. "We're safe here you moron."

Standing up Ranma extracted the clip from the gun before ejecting the last bullet out of the chamber. Handing the gun back to Sagara he waited for the other boy to lower his guard.

"It's a long story," Ranma stated. "In _this_ Japan firearms are really looked down upon. You might want to keep yours out of sight."

The scarred boy eyed him wirily as he took off his mask. "This Japan?"

Ranma nodded. "Welcome to my world – a world where apparently you died."

X X X X X

Killing was part of his profession and he'd long ago grown used to the feel of his trusted WA2000 rifle as he squeezed the trigger. It didn't matter that he'd just killed the Kurz Weber, his former student and protégé. They were both snipers by nature and mercenaries to boot – ultimately they would have been forced to be enemies, and just one time was enough as the veteran sniper had proven. One shot to the head had probably been enough, but the two rounds to the chest were insurance. After all, it never hurt to make sure that your target wasn't getting back up.

The man known as Casper sighed. It wasn't that he regretted killing the loud blond German, it was that he wouldn't be able to collect on the bonus for killing the rest of Kurz's team. With the Squad commander hidden behind the thick fence and the other boy in the cloud of tear gas Casper knew that he'd only be able to collect on the one kill. It wouldn't take long for the authorities to mobilize, and though they weren't as annoying as Mithril, it would be enough to hamper him until Mithril eventually arrived on sight, if the two remaining members of the squad weren't already moving in on him that was.

X X X X X

"The door's jammed," one of the bridge crew shouted as he tried to force the door open.

"Ma'am, Wraith is trying to contact us," the helmsman stated.

Frustrated with the sudden betrayal, the young captain steeled herself as she tried to regain control of the situation. "Wraith, this is Captain Testarossa," she stated as she picked up the microphone.

"Enemy forces have surrounded the apartment complex that Kaname Chidori lives in," the undistorted voice of the intelligence and surveillance officer explained. "Two dozen Bonta-kun Arm Slaves and two unknown Arm Slaves have appeared. They've shot tear gas into Kaname Chidori's apartment."

"Shit!" the silver-grey haired girl exclaimed. With SRT 2 out of position with to observe the mysterious martial artist and SRT 1 observing the martial artists in Hinata they were stretched thin. "Contact SRT 1 and have them move to assist. Find out where SRT 2 is and have them"

"Ma'am, Urzu-2 is reporting that they are under fire," the helmsman stated. "Urzu-6 is dead, Urzu-7 is missing."

"Reports of explosions on level 6," another officer reported. "Structural integrity is failing!"

"All hands, evacuate," Tessa ordered. "Dana, initiate self destruct sequence Omega 10 – authorization Theta Epsilon Sigma Sigma Alpha."

"All systems override," the ship's AI chirped. "Self destruct in seven minutes," Dana announced over all com systems on the ship.

Several explosions opened the secondary door to the portal to the bridge.

"Captain," gruff XO said as he turned to the young woman.

"Evacuate the crew," Tessa ordered as she focused on the display before her. "As the Captain I have to initiate all overrides with Dana to ensure that most of the crew can evacuate."

Richard Mardukas reluctantly swallowed his pride. Despite his rank and experience he knew that he could not communicate with Dana. Only a Whispered like Kaname Chidori or the Captain could effectively control the experimental AI. Snapping a salute, he fought back the urge to override the young captain's order. "It has been an honor to serve with you Captain."

Behind him the remainder of the crew saluted the young Captain.

X X X X X

Keitaro Urashima was not happy. Not only had he allowed himself to be distracted by his rash dimension traveling cousin but he'd failed to consider that they were all still under the constant watch and observation of the government and some other military power. He should have kept his guard up and he shouldn't have let the idiot military otaku and his friends get the jump on him and Ranma. And then there had been the shooting. Clearly someone was watching the people who were secretly watching them.

And if they were being watched than he couldn't just bring the cross-dressing girl/boy back to the Hinata Sou - at least not by anyway or path that was being watched. With Ukyo over his shoulder, Keitaro led Kanako into the sewers of Nerima. Though it would be a long, smelly night, the Urashima heir knew that he would be able to make it back to the Hinata Sou before midnight. Hopefully Ranma would be back by then.

# # # # #

She knew she should have been surprised, and perhaps part of her secretly wanted to see Ranma again, but not like this. The sudden flash of light that announced Ranma's sudden return to this dimension though did not bring just the master martial artist but another traveler as well.

"Shit!" Sagara exclaimed as he realized that they were no longer under the cover of the smoke.

"Shit!" Ranma exclaimed as he realized just where they were. "Fuck! Who the hell uses tear gas as cover?"

Dazed and partially blinded by the gas and bright lights from the portal Ranma fought to orient himself while also keeping Sagara pinned beneath him.

"We need to find cover!" the other boy urged as he squirmed beneath Ranma.

"Dude, you're not in Oz anymore," Ranma stated as he squinted at the now dark watch. "We're safe here you moron."

Standing up Ranma extracted the clip from the gun before ejecting the last bullet out of the chamber. Handing the gun back to Sagara he waited for the other boy to lower his guard.

"It's a long story," Ranma stated. "In _this_ Japan firearms are really looked down upon. You might want to keep yours out of sight."

The scarred boy eyed him wirily as he took off his mask. "This Japan?"

Ranma nodded. "Welcome to my world – a world where apparently you died."

"Ranma?" Motoko exclaimed, rushing past the startled Ryoko.

"Motoko? What's going on?" the busty redhead asked as she chased after her old friend. _'And who is this Ranma person?_'

Ripping off Sagara's mask, Ranma looked down at the scarred boy. "We're not in that world anymore," he stated. His steady, insistent eyes held firm as he stood up, releasing the other boy from his position on the ground. "You might recognize them, but they don't know you."

"You clearly know them," the scarred boy stated as he pulled himself to his feet.

"I know both the Motoko from both worlds," the blond boy stated. "Hey Motoko," he said as if to prove his point.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" the slightly startled girl asked.

"Just had to pick something up," Ranma lied.

"You know him?" a slightly familiar voice asked.

Ranma blinked, but caught himself before blurting out the girl's name. Yes, he knew a Ryoko Mitsurugi, but not this one.

"He's my dorm manager's cousin," the slender kendoka stated. "And one of his friends."

"Sagara, Sousuke Sagara," the scarred boy said curtly.

"Ranma Saotome," the master martial artist added as he turned to face the busty redhead.

"Ryoko Mitsurugi," the girl replied.

"Um, sorry to keep this brief, but we've got to get back to the Sou," Ranma said as he took Sagara's hand and lead the other boy away.

Still startled by the odd turn of events Motoko and Ryoko simply watched as the two boys ran off.

"He's kinda cute," Ryoko teased her childhood friend, causing Motoko to get slightly flustered.

Stunned, Motoko simply nodded.

Back in his home world Ranma knew that he didn't have to worry about roof hopping as these residents were used to the various martial artists taking the most direct route. He was a bit surprised though that the soldier boy was roughly able to keep up with him, though he was at least two buildings back. It was actually kinda like being followed by the Konatsu or even Keitaro of the other world actually as Sousuke literally ran the length of the building then jumped, clearing the distance between buildings before landing on the next building whereas Ranma simply took a step to land and another to leap towards the next building.

Reaching the train station Ranma had to admit, he wasn't impressed. But at least Sagara had his grudging respect. Though he clearly wasn't a martial artist he did have some skill. Still, he had potential despite the fact that he'd died in this world.

Shaking his head, Ranma waited for Sagara to catch up to him and for the next train to arrive.

X X X X X

Few dared to tread the hidden Labyrinth beneath Tokyo, though few actually knew of the dark world that lay beneath the long discarded subway tunnels.

But Keitaro Urashima knew a great many things that most people didn't know. Having spent the past ten years trying to live up to the high standard that his missing grandmother had set, the young and determined boy couldn't help but feel the urgent need to explore and discover things. It was that curiosity that had led him to find the connection between the tunnels beneath the Hinata Sou and the tunnels that canvassed through all of Tokyo proper. Nearly six years of traveling the dangerous surface tunnels had helped him become the fighter he was today. Still, as good as he was, Keitaro knew that venturing into the deeper tunnels was dangerous. What little he'd learned from the wiry inhabitants of the surface tunnels had suggested that the deeper he went the more dangerous it became as the stronger residents lived further from the surface. Even an expert martial artist like himself could only venture into the top two levels.

Still, to get to the Hinata Sou from Nerima Keitaro knew that he'd have to go deeper into the heart of the hidden underground world. Though he trusted his own abilities he wasn't sure about this Kanako or the girl who had pretended to be his cousin. Still, he knew that he'd have to take that chance.

Grabbing smelling salts out of his pack he held it under the unconscious girl's nose, instantly waking her as a result.

"Wh-" she began to say only to have Keitaro put his hand over her mouth. Scanning the area she noted that they were in the relative darkness.

Seeing that she appeared to be cooperating, Keitaro removed his hand. Standing up he looked at the two girls. Though Ranma had handily defeated this Ukyo girl, Keitaro had heard that she'd bested both Konatsu and Akane Tendo, a considerable feat. And this Kanako was definitely stronger than his Kanako, though she wasn't at his level, not yet at least.

"We're deep underground," he explained, "the quickest way home without being seen by the military is through these hidden tunnels. But it's not going to be easy."

"The Underground," Ukyo grumbled.

"You know of it?" Keitaro exclaimed.

"I've lived here for the past five years," Ukyo growled, "until recently at least. Ryu and I, we lived here until we were driven out by the Company."

"The Company?" Kanako repeated, not sure what was going on.

"They run the Underground," the cross-dressing martial artist stated. "They're a company that was forced to go into hiding for experimenting on unborn children. Some of the people down here, they've got special powers. Ryu was able to pass for one of them, but only because he'd mastered the Yamasenken. When they found out he wasn't one of their 'special' people they drove us out, killing him in the process. Before he died, Ryu told me to find Genma Saotome so that I could get the Umisenken so that I could avenge him."

"And that's why you pretended to be Ranma," Kanako concluded.

"Well, if you want the Umisenken you'll have to work with us to get back to Ranma," Keitaro stated. "Right now we have to go through the Underground to get back to the Sou."

# # # # #

Having traveled through the two parallel worlds often over the past few days Ranma had quickly realized that the biggest difference between the two worlds could be seen best on the Subway system. Though they ran along the same paths and tracks, it was the city around the subway system and the people in the trains that were so vastly different.

In this world girls didn't have to fear traveling alone and they could sit or stand in the subway without fear of being molested or groped by random men. Here the teenaged girls wore skirts but a few wore pants with others looking at them as through they were deviants.

Though the sky was slowly turning to dusk and night outside Tokyo was much cleaner and vibrant than the other Tokyo.

Plain and simple – people here were nicer and more social, less afraid and more open with their neighbors.

It was clear to Ranma that Sagara was slowly picking up on this as they rode the train in relative silence.

X X X X X

Looking over the disheveled and demoralized remaining crew of the _Tuatha De Danaan_, Melissa Mao couldn't help but slouch as she leaned against bullet ridden wall. The loss of most of the SRT and PRT teams as well as the _Tuatha De Danaan_ and much of their hardware though was a hard pill to swallow. What had once been a ragtag band of mercenaries from around the world was now even more desolate and depleted as nearly a third of the active crew had gone down with the ship.

It didn't help that the second in command, Andrei Sergeivich Kalinin had betrayed them and sunk the pride of the Pacific fleet. Given how close Kalinin was with Sagara, Melissa couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the missing member of her team was missing for a reason. Maybe he had betrayed her, leading them into a trap.

Doubts filled her mind as she looked at the tattered remains of the crew.

"She's alive!" someone shouted. "The Captain's alive!"

# # # # #

The sound of anxious steps against the hardwood floor filled the lounge of the Hinata Sou, slowly grating on the nerves of those gathered.

"They should be on their way back," the usually energetic Su stated as she tinkered with another invention. "My readings show that the portal by the canal was activated nearly two hours ago. It should take at least three hours for even Ranma to get here if he took the train."

The runty young man nodded as he continued to pace.

"Why don't we try to study?" Naru suggested from the couch.

"He's not gonna be able to concentrate," Kitsune added as she lounged on the sofa with a bottle of sake. "He's waiting for his sister to return."

The auburn haired beauty scowled. "Well, I've got some studying to do," she stated as she stomped off.

"They're here," the runty boy stated as he rushed out the front door, heedless of the fact that Naru had simply stopped at the stairs.

The others filed after him, dashing through the door and onto the landing as two heads appeared over the steps.

Looking at the crowd that awaited his return, Ranma fought the urge to grumble. The look of disappointment on Keitaro's face as he took in the other figure spoke volumes about how much he cared about his adopted sister.

Only his years of training though allowed him to react properly as his new companion moved to draw a gun. Reaching for the Hina Blade, Ranma quickly unsheathed it, slicing Sagara's gun in two. Kicking at the other boy Ranma left the black blade imbedded in the cement as he tried to disarm Sagara of a second weapon. The sound of a metal pin being extracted from a grenade made the others pause as they took in the odd couple's fight.

"Goddammit!" Ranma cursed as he once again pinned the other boy to the ground. Kicking away the grenade he glared at Sagara. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

Hitting several pressure points to keep the boy from reaching for more hidden weapons, Ranma continued to hold onto Sagara, marching him back towards the others. "I told you, the people here might look like some of the people you know in this world but they're not the same people."

"That's Ogma-1; formerly Urzu-1," the scarred boy grunted. "She was one of the founding members of Mithril before she betrayed us."

Ranma followed Sagara's hateful glare.

"Granny Hina?"

# # # # #

A/N

Yes, Ranma is a bit chatty, and a bit too trusting, but hell, he trusts Mousse, Kuno, Taro, Rogue, Happosai and Ryoga most of the time. Canon Ranma tends to not care about the fact that people are out to get him until they actually move to screw him over, and then once that issue/episode is resolved he's over it and trusts them again until they try to screw him over. Thus far only the now dead other Tatewaki Kuno has obviously tried to screw him over, thus he really doesn't have any reason to distrust anyone. Ranma does talk about things when they are brought up, but only when brought up. It's not as if he's talking about things at random or things that aren't immediately relevant to what's going on around him.

Unfortunately Ranma will have to learn to be more discrete with the information he has.

Dreamingfox


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Notes –

No, I do not own the rights to Tokyo Underground, Ranma ½, Full Metal Panic, Love Hina, or Negima.

I'm sure you've seen the polls on my profile, though the first one was pretty obvious – Motoko Aoyama easily defeats Akane Tendo.

New poll – Who would win – Ryoko Mitsurugi vs. Shampoo?

X X X X X

Keitaro Urashima was not your typical Todai student. First of all was the fact that he was considered a master martial artist, something of a rarity in Japan ever since the fiasco with Genma Saotome some ten years ago. Second… wait, there wasn't a second, just a first and only point against him being normal, unless of course you counted the fact that he'd killed more people than he cared to keep track of. Having hones his skills in the labyrinth far beneath the subway tunnels of Metro Tokyo against unspeakable horrors and amazingly skilled, masked fighters the young Urashima heir knew better than to leave his enemies alive if he had the chance to completely remove them from the equation.

With his trusty combat knifes in hand he cut a bloody swath through the faceless attackers. It didn't bother him that this Kanako, the one from a more peaceful Japan, was watching him in action. Though this Kanako was much more skilled that his Kanako; she lacked the killer instinct that he had developed from years of traveling through the hidden underground passages.

The masked men wore all black, helping them blend into the deep shadows, and each wore a pair of vicious tiger claws, giving them extra reach and range against the unarmed girls. Fortunately Keitaro's combat knifes more than made up for that advantage as he cut the arm off one assailant then stabbed the same man through the gut. Twisting the blade he viciously yanked it out before kicking the man into one of his companions.

Though she lacked Keitaro's killer instinct Kanako was able to hold her own as the trio of fighters made their way through the underground. Blocking a strike she countered with a powerful punch to the face, knocking her attacker unconscious. A swift middle kick to the stomach of another attacker knocked the air out of his lungs, stunning him long enough for her to kick him in the head and send him into unconsciousness.

Even Ukyo was getting into the fight as she pummeled the fighters mercilessly. Having spent part of the past ten years living with the inhabitants of the underground she was used to fighting the shadowy guardians. Though she lacked her late lover's power she was still able to use the attacks he'd taught her effectively against the masked men. Grabbing hold of their forearms she broke ribs as she forcefully kicked them in the chest. Her powerful fingers ripped into their flesh as she stabbed them with her extended fingers.

Decapitating the last of the six man squad, Keitaro looked at the girls, "We're halfway there – we just need to take this turn, which leads to a straight passage that runs for a kilometer then take a passage up to another tunnel. Once we reach that tunnel they shouldn't pursue us any further."

# # # # #

"Mithril was initially founded to deal with rogue magic and to hide its presence from the world," Granny Hina stated as she looked at the growing crowd. "Rather than relying on the Magi to police themselves," she nodded at Eishin and the Mahora contingent, "we were created to deal with magical communities on an international scale to secretly deal with magical attacks against the non-magical populace as well as to hide the existence of magic from the non-magical. Sometimes that's harder than it appears and we've had to step in to cover things up for the magi, and sometimes we've been asked by the magi to help deal with rogue magi.

"I was one of the handful of people who worked for Mithril; in my time with Mithril I helped find the cursed Hina Blade and hid it away," she glanced at the black katana that she'd given to Ranma. "I also did a great number of other missions, but ten years ago I did my last mission for Mithril.

"Rogue magi had begun working for the Russian government to combine magic and technology, something that violated the treaty between Mithril and the various magi associations. On Christmas Eve of 1982, the rogue magi tested their device. The device created a portal to the demonic realm, but since it was a technological one and not a magical one the portal was incomplete. Some two dozen demonic spirits were released, but they didn't have their natural bodies. Instead they inhabited the bodies of still born babies.

"Then ten years ago Mithril was called in to deal with the rogues. We didn't have all the information at the time. All we knew was that the Russian magi were attempting to awaken the demonic children. My team went in and destroyed the device – a machine they called the Omni Sphere.

"It wasn't until I returned to Japan on leave that I discovered the consequences of our actions."

Glancing at Ranma the old woman had a great sadness in her eyes. "What's your birthday?"

Ranma held the woman's gaze for a moment before turning to look at his father and mother.

"December 24th, 1982," Nodoka replied, her voice trembling. "You were a sickly boy; the mid-wife didn't think you'd survive the night."

An odd feeling of dread filled Ranma.

"And the day that you were thrown into the pit of cats?" Hinata Urashima asked as she focused her eyes on Ranma. "It was exactly ten years ago from when you jumped between dimensions, wasn't it?"

Ranma looked at his father.

Genma nodded.

"That was the same day that my team destroyed the Omni Sphere," Hinata stated. "It's possible that in the other world my team didn't succeed in destroying it before it was used again. Your inner demon probably woke up and combined with the Neko-ken training broke your young mind."

"B-but when Ranma has gone cat he's never killed anyone," Genma snapped.

"In this world," Ranma replied. "But ever since I came back from China after the Saffron incident… well, I've had these dark urges… and since jumping to the other world… I really wanted to kill the other Kuno, and nearly killed Tatewaki in this world. Hell, I probably would have killed Mousse and Ryoga if Motoko hadn't stopped me."

The realization that he'd been willing to kill them even though they hadn't presented themselves as that much of a threat chilled his blood. "Since jumping I've been hearing this voice whenever I fight, telling me to kill everyone, friend or foe… and since using the blade that voice has gotten stronger. Whenever I look at it the voice calls out to me."

Clenching his fists Ranma trembled as he confessed his weakness. He was supposed to be a man amongst men – he was supposed to be able to suppress such urges easily. Yet now he couldn't even bring himself to look at the blade.

"The answer's simple," a new voice interjected, breaking the odd atmosphere that hung over the Hinata Sou.

"Seta!" several residents of the Hinata Sou exclaimed.

"Urzu-2," Granny Hina nodded at the tall man in the lab coat.

Naru, Kitsune, and Haruka glanced at the old dorm manager then at the young Todai professor.

"Urzu-2?" the bound Sousuke Sagara blinked.

"What's your solution?" Hina asked.

"It's simple," the man said as he strode into the lounge, "you exorcise the demon inside of him."

"That would kill him," Hina's eyes narrowed.

"Possibly," Seta replied, "well, most likely. But it would solve the problem of him jumping through dimensions."

"Would you stop being an ass just for a second?" Haruka grumbled as she hit the tall man with a vicious straight punch to the side of his face that sent him flying.

Pulling himself out of the wreckage that was the wall Seta brushed himself off. "Actually, from what I've been briefed, Ranma survived when all the other children died. He was a sickly boy, not stillborn, and he survived when you destroyed the Omni Sphere when all the other children perished. I think that Ranma has a soul of his own but was weak enough that the demonic spirit thought it could possess him. If we can extract that demon from him he should be able to survive without its influence though it would weaken him greatly."

Unfortunately the only things that Ranma seemed to focus on were the words 'extract' and 'weaken'. Being the proud martial artist that he was, Ranma did not like those options. He'd had enough of being weak when Happosai had got him with the moxibustion; there was no way in hell he'd go back to being a weakling.

Glancing at his watch, he decided to employ the Saotome's Ultimate Technique. Rather than announcing his intentions, he simply sprang to his feet, grabbing the Hina Blade and Sousuke as he made a mad dash for the stairs.

Startled by the suddenness of his actions, only Granny Hina seemed to catch on to what was going on. "He's going for Motoko's room."

The assembled magi and martial artists rushed to pursue him, only to be stopped by a sudden explosion. "Make sure you bring me back some of their tech!" Su shouted as she reloaded her rocket launcher.

"Su!" Granny Hina shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Helping Ranma of course," the bubbly blond smirked. "That should buy him just enough time to get away."

"Titanium mesh," Eishin grumbled as he looked at the large net that covered the doorway.

"Outside," Takahata stated as he rushed out of the lounge.

Tsuruko stood by the door, her sword drawn, "No."

"Out of the way sister," Eishin said coolly as he fingered the hilt of his own blade.

"Exorcising the demon spirit in him, if it exists, is not the way," the elegant swordswoman stated.

The two former heirs of the Shinmeiryu locked eyes.

Suddenly Tsuruko's blade flashed, deflecting a blast of ki as Takahata fired off his iaido. Taking advantage of the distraction Eishin moved to engage his sibling, drawing his blade as he did so. The clash of steel rang through the Hinata Sou as the elder Aoyama forced his sibling through the entrance, allowing Akashi, Takahata and Seta to pursue Ranma.

"We're trying to help him," Eishin stated as he slashed at his sister.

"So am I," Tsuruko retorted as she deflected his blade, making sure to stand between him and Motoko's room.

The giant metal monster charged at the three men.

"I'll take care of that," Takahata stated as he moved to intercept the strange mecha. Slipping his hands into his pockets he fired off three quick blasts, knocking the metal beast out of the sky. "Huh, it's tougher than it looks."

The mecha forced itself to its feet even as it launched a barrage of missiles at the trio.

Ranma ran, heedless of the chaos behind him, his mind set on him returning to the other dimension.

Sagara simply flew behind Ranma as the scarred boy was still bound and being dragged/carried by the master martial artist. Everything he'd heard was, well, impossible. Having been raised in a world where technology ruled and fantastic technology existed, it was hard for him to fathom that magic existed. And the Whispered – they were supposed to have been still born children with demonic spirits? If Hinata Urashima was to be believed then Tess and Kaname were both possessed by demonic spirits. But demons didn't exist… did they?

And what was this about parallel worlds and Ranma somehow being able to travel between them? It was, well, unbelievable. It just didn't make any sense at all.

X X X X X

Things were going well, almost too well, but Leonard Testarossa had planned for everything, thus the reason why he wasn't concerned at all. Yes he had not had his dramatic confrontation with Sousuke Sagara and the Arbalest, and technically Casper hadn't killed the Arm Slave genius, and things hadn't gone according to his plan, but Mithril's SRT 2 had been distracted and pulled away from Kaname Chidori, allowing him free reign to capture the promising Whispered. Still, with Sagara and the Arbalest not out of the picture yet he knew that he'd eventually have to face them – giving him the perfect opportunity to show the remains of Mithril and Amalgam just how powerful the Belial type AS was as well as the Eligor series that were based off of its design.

Pushing the urge to smile aside, the silver-grey haired youth ordered his forces to scramble. The expendable Bonta-kun Arm Slaves would provide enough of a distraction for the local police, allowing him to escape with the now unconscious Kaname Chidori.

X X X X X

Things were not going well. Though the two dozen Bonta-kun Arm Slaves had surrounded the apartment building it had been the untraceable call from Leonard Testarossa that had convinced Kaname Chidori to surrender. Clearly the rogue Whispered boy had anticipated the fact that the teal haired girl's apartment was bugged as Wraith had not been able to hear any of the short conversation that the two Whispered had had before Kaname had surrendered herself to the mysterious Arm Slave.

It didn't help that the Tuatha De Danaan had apparently been sunk and then self destructed in Tokyo bay.

With no back up and none of the senior officers answering her calls, Wraith was effectively alone.

It didn't help that several Bonta-kuns were effectively trying to weed her out.

Yes, Leonard Testarossa had apparently thought of everything. Even if he couldn't catch her again, his forces were forcing her to break her surveillance of the teal haired Whispered girl. More than likely he would use that time to examine her for any weapons and tracking devices, thus effectively keeping Mithril from pursuing him.

Stripping out of her bulky costume, the lithe Korean born agent threw the remains of the outfit into a nearby trash bin. Disassembling her rifle she quickly packed it away. Grabbing a makeup kit she worked at a furious pace to try and hide some of her more distinct features. True, she would not be able to hide her Korean features from anyone who really looked at her, but it would be enough to let her slip away without being recognized. They were after all expecting a man. Even her previous encounter with Leonard had left him believing that she was male. Next time, if there was a next time, he would not make that mistake again.

X X X X X

"I know that apartment building," the busty kendoka exclaimed as she watched the news coverage on the large flat-screen television. "That's where some of the girls from Jindai live."

"It's an all female dormitory," the slender kendoka added. "Some of the girls at St. Bacchus stay there as well. Turn up the volume."

Eishin held up the remote, pressing down on the volume button.

"-it appears as though the horde of Bonta-kuns has dispersed!" the newswoman in the helicopter explained. "They've released several smoke grenades."

"Isn't this sort of like what happened in Hinata?" the voice of the anchorman at the station cut in.

"Now that you mention it, yes, it is like that. The larger AS looks similar to the one that was at Hinata as well," the newswoman replied.

"We are now taking you to Asuna Mitsugane who is flying over Tokyo bay," the anchorman cut in again. "We've received reports of a submarine accident in the bay."

"Thank you Saotome-san," the second newswoman said as a photo of the woman appeared in the lower left corner as the screen changed to show the dark waters of the bay and several rescue boats. "We have yet to confirm if the submarine is American, Japanese, or Canadian as no government or military has verified that they have a submarine in the area. We do know that the American base in Nerima recently had two submarines in port but both of those were still in port and were dispatched to help assist in rescue efforts.

"We're being flagged down by the JDF – they've temporarily created a no-fly zone over all of Tokyo bay."

"Thank you Mitsugane-san," the anchorman said as they cut off the feed from the helicopter and returned to the television station. "In earlier breaking news – reports of gunfire in Nerima have the police in the district combing the ward. No casualties have been reported yet though witnesses appear to think that this may have something to do with the recent assassination of the Kuno Zabatsu heir."

# # # # #

Though he was loathed to use it, Ranma unsheathed the cursed black blade. Hands trembling, he gingerly cut the steel cords that bound Sousuke Sagara before sheathing the blade.

"If you want to get home to Kaname, we have to go through them," Ranma stated. "But no killing – promise me."

Straining against the loosened bindings, the scarred warrior nodded, "I promise – no killing _this_ time."

Ranma nodded, ripping the last of the bindings before helping the other boy to his feet. For two old guys the mage and the secret agent were pretty fast. Then again, they had taken the most direct route to Motoko's room running along the side of the Hinata Sou rather than through the hallways and stairs. Well, Happosai and Cologne were pretty fast too, and they were much older than these two.

"We won't let you through," Akashi stated as he stood before the door to Motoko's room.

"Ranma, I'm here to help," Seta stated as he adopted a rough Jeet Kun Do stance.

"Then let me go back to that other world," Ranma said, his hand still on the hilt of the cursed blade. "Granny Hinata and Haruka know pretty much everything that I know. They'll tell you that I'm being compelled to return to the other world. Besides - if I don't go back there, than I can't bring Kanako back."

"Kanako's from this world?" Sagara asked as he eyed the two men before him.

"The one you met is," the sword welding boy stated. "The Kanako from the other world died in my arms. Apparently only people who have died in one world can travel between worlds. I died in that world nearly ten years ago. Apparently you died in this world which allowed you to come here. But you can't go back there unless I open the doorway, and the only way for me to do that is for me to get close enough to it to be pulled through. Of course you have to be with me or else you'll get stuck here just like Kanako is stuck in your world."

Sagara nodded. Reaching behind him he quickly pulled out a Beretta 92FS. Taking aim he shot at the two men, "Move!"

Forced to dodge, Akashi jumped to the side while Seta simply sidestepped.

The minor movement was enough for Ranma to take action, charging ahead at the slight opening provided by Sagara.

Not one to be left behind, the scarred soldier followed, shooting another pair of shots that forced Seta off to the side.

With each step that Ranma came closer to Motoko's room the table inside began to glow brighter and brighter.

Intent on stopping Ranma from triggering the portal, Seta charged at the boys. Akashi did the same from the other side.

Unfortunately the ever elusive martial artist slipped past the mage, leaping over his out-stretched hands and through the thin door. Sagara was not so fortunate as Seta tackled him into the room, expertly knocking aside the gun in his hand as they crashed through the thin, sliding door.

Blinding light filled the hallway through the tattered remains of the door.

Forced to shield his eyes Akashi waited for the light to fade, signaling that the doorway was closed. "Damn," he exclaimed, "this is not going to go well."

X X X X X

"It appears that there's no news of any one jumping from roof top to roof top at least," the slender kendoka stated as she turned down the volume of the television as the station resumed their regularly scheduled programming.

"Do you think that they were involved in the shooting?" Ryoko asked.

Pulling out his pipe Happosai put it to his lips as he considered what little he knew. "I'm sure that if they were involved then they wouldn't have gotten shot," the old grandmaster stated. "But that was the spot where the initial marker was, right?"

The raven haired beauty nodded, "It appears to be close to it."

"Perhaps Ranma and Kanako went back to the other world?" Ryoko suggested.

"If so then why hasn't Keitaro contacted us?" the sagely master asked. "He would have called unless something happened. Not to mention that they had gone to the Tendos to deal with an imposter that claimed to be Ranma. It's been over eight hour since they left."

"An hour to get to Nerima on the train," Eishin stated, "and then the shooting was about an hour later. That's around the time that we've estimated the portal to open."

"Which means that the other portal would be opening up…"

Three shots rang out, startling everyone.

Ryoko didn't bother to finish her thought as she turned around and headed up the stairs towards Motoko's room. The slender kendoka quickly gave chase, followed by her brother and the other magi.

Happosai sighed, "I'm much too young for this."

# # # # #

Though it had been a number of years since she'd seen her childhood friend, Ryoko knew that the slender kendoka before her was flustered. Actually, Motoko had spent much of the evening since the encounter at the canal pretty much flustered. Clearly there was something between her and the boy – Ranma, but what?

Staring up at the ceiling, Ryoko couldn't help but wonder about her old friend.

X X X X X

"We're here," Ranma stated as he wrestled the gun out of the scarred soldier's hand. "So you can knock it off!"

With the situation clearly under control, Seta stood up. Extracting a cigarette he contemplated lighting it. "So who runs this Hinata Sou?"

"Technically?" Ranma asked. "No idea, never asked."

"So apparently I died in this world," the lab coat wearing man grumbled as he stuck the cigarette into his mouth. "Is there a Haruka in this world?"

Seeing that Sagara wasn't about to pull another gun out, Ranma relaxed. "No idea, never asked."

"Ten years ago… I was still in Todai," he sighed. "I wonder what this me did to get me killed."

"I need to report in," Sagara stated as he pulled himself up to his feet. "It's been six hours since I vanished and"

"Kurz is dead," Ranma stated. "I'm sorry about your friend."

"Mithril needs to know that I'm still alive," the soldier stated. Glancing at Seta he locked eyes with the other world's Urzu-2. "You're part of Mithril, you should know."

Seta nodded. "You're right," he replied. "But you can't mention me or Ranma. You know he can take you down if he needs to – especially in the position that you're in."

Ranma glared down at the boy pinned beneath him.

"Mithril might focus on saving the world now, but we were once doing what he's doing now," Sagara said as he glared at Seta. "We can help."

# # # # #

A/N

I think I'll leave it at that.

Dreamingfox


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Notes –

I'm kinda sad to say that this fic is slowly winding down. I'm pretty sure I'm now in the back end of this fic, though I was hoping for 30 chapters like Ranma is Legend or Ranma's White Wings.

X X X X X

"Sagara!"

The scarred boy ignored the relieved greetings that the other surviving crewmembers of the Tuatha De Danaan made as they spotted him. The gathered soldiers weren't surprised though as Sousuke Sagara had tended to head straight for the highest ranking officer to be debriefed, even if he was just a part-timer now.

"Commander Mardukas!" he called out as he strode over to the former British Royal Navy commander.

Soldiers quickly parted, giving Sousuke and his companion room to move as they sought out the acting commander.

"Sergeant Sagara," the Brit said as he stood at attention.

"Sir," the scarred soldier said as he returned the salute, "I have with me Ranma Saotome – the man who fought the mysterious Arm Slave and pushed it back."

All around them the gathered soldiers stopped talking as they focused their attention on the busty redheaded girl that had followed Sagara to the Executive Officer.

"Medic!" Commander Mardukas called out.

"Sir," Sagara said with deadly earnest, "I know this looks strange, and really, it is unbelievable but I saw it with my own eyes. This is Ranma Saotome and he, well, he looks like a girl right now, but he is definitely a guy – sometimes. If you would just get me some hot water I could explain things to you."

"Medic!"

Swarms of military men and women quickly moved to subdue the clearly insane or at least mentally confused Arm Slave pilot. But the busty redhead would have none of that. Grabbing a hand he flipped the owner over even as he tripped another soldier. A gentle push knocked two men into the half dozen men behind them.

"Sir," Sagara continued, a slightly dangerous edge to his voice, "you have to listen to me."

"I would advise listening to him," a new voice cut in over the sounds made by the soldiers that had been knocked off their feet by the busty girl. "Clearly things aren't as they appear."

The Executive Officer nodded at the petite woman in the heavy trench coat. "Wraith."

"Wraith?" Sagara blinked as he looked at the Korean woman. Clearly she was not what he'd expected.

"Get some hot water," Mardukas ordered. Several soldiers who were still on their feet moved to comply.

Once the first of them was back Ranma quickly unbuttoned his silk shirt, exposing the breasts that his cursed form was blessed with, drawing some leers but no whistles of appreciation.

Taking the cup of water Sagara locked eyes with Ranma before quickly splashing him with the contents of the cup, instantly triggering the transformation.

Shaking off the access water Ranma noted how the soldiers around him moved to avoid getting wet. "I am Ranma Saotome, and I'm not from _this_ world."

X X X X X

Patience was supposed to be a virtue. Despite his age Sousuke Sagara was a seasoned soldier with plenty of patience. Yet as he watched the seasoned interrogation squad tried to verify Ranma's story he knew that he had little patience for proper procedure.

"So you were in this other dimension, this world where your other self apparently died?" Mardukas asked as he paced behind Sagara.

"That's correct."

"Why you?"

"Because only those who one version of themselves in this world and the other can travel between the two worlds, though only if they are with Ranma Saotome."

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Ranma traveled back to his world, but managed to bring someone here. That same person had just died in this world, but when he came back here he brought her with him."

"Her?"

"Yes."

"What is 'her' name?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"And that makes you think that is the only key?"

"Well, Ranma Saotome in this world died over ten years ago, and apparently I'm dead in that world, and the others are apparently dead in this world."

"Others?"

Suddenly an alarm went off.

"That would be Urzu-2, or the man who became Urzu-2 in the other world."

"Mithril exists there too?" With his back to the monitor the Executive Officer failed to notice that Ranma had broken out of his shackles, swiftly knocked down Melissa Mao, and then broken out of the room.

"It was created over ten years ago," Sagara stated, "but there they continue to focus on what Mithril was originally founded to do – deal with rogue magic users and helping to keep magic and their users hidden from the rest of the world.

"You saw it too – the way that girl turned into a boy. That girl is Ranma Saotome. You saw him in his cursed form and how hot water turns him back to his true form, but cold water turns him back. Magic does exist."

The Executive Officer froze. There was that bit of evidence that he just couldn't disprove. He and much of the surviving crew had seen that mysterious display and none of them could explain it.

"Just over ten years ago, Hinata Urashima, AKA Urzu-1, was in charge of SRT 1. And then she took one final mission for Mithril where she went rogue. But in the other world she went on that mission then retired. This Urzu-2 was her replacement.

"It must be just after 0700, the time we had set for extraction."

"Actually it is 0640," Mardukas stated as he looked at his watch. As one of the old guard he preferred to use a watch rather than rely on cell phones or the digital clocks that were currently dead due to the facility running on their reserve generators.

"Sir!" Warrant Officer Helms shouted as he opened the door to the room. "It's the captain. She's woken up – but she's on a rampage! And the Prisoner has escaped!"

As if on cue Ranma suddenly appeared, breaking through the bulletproof glass as though it were candy glass.

"Ranma stop!" Sagara shouted, stopping the martial artist from effortlessly knocking out Mardukas. "It's only 0640, twenty minutes before Seta's supposed to be here."

Realization hit the martial artist.

"It's the captain. She's a Whispered."

The martial artist blinked, trying to connect the dots. "Where is she?"

"Where is she?" Mardukas repeated as he turned to the Warrant Officer.

"The infirmary, but she's been making her way towards the barracks."

"I'll order everyone to back off and not engage the Captain," Mardukas stated. "Helms – take them to the Captain."

Helms nodded, snapping a sharp salute before turning around to lead the two young men out the door.

The scene before them was, well, not what they expected. Soldiers lay scattered through the barracks. Though many had put in several years in the armed forces of their home nations, none could stand to lift a hand against their former captain. The cute and adorable silver-grey haired girl had been the crewmen's idol for the longest time, though Kaname Chidori was starting to gain more fans, the majority of the crew still favored the young captain. Seeing her rush them they couldn't find it in themselves to fight back. Then seeing her kissing them and draining their life energy, well, that was the last straw as the men simply stood their waiting their turn to be kissed.

Only the older, married men seemed to be able to resist temptation, though they clearly couldn't pull their friends and comrades out of harm's way – not when it was a naked and nubile Tessa Testarossa that was approaching them.

"What's going on here?" Sagara shouted, immediately drawing the ire of most of his fellow crewmen. Trapped behind the hordes of taller soldiers he only glimpsed the sight of a few bodies on the ground.

All of them knew that the captain had something for the scarred AS pilot, and with him there she'd definitely be gunning for him, thus ruining their chances at getting kissed.

"Sagara!" one of the men shouted as he tried to tackle the scarred soldier.

Ignoring the men, Ranma leapt over the group. The sight of the fair skinned girl standing completely naked as she dropped another victim to the ground sent mental alarms ringing in the martial artist's mind. He could feel the demonic energy inside of her, another clue that she was the source of the problems.

"So," the young beauty said in a fairly husky voice as she turned to face the martial artist, "you are Ranma Saotome - the first Whispered."

"Than it's true," he said as he confronted the demonically possessed girl, "the Whispered are simply hosts for demon spirits."

"HAHAHAHA!" the silver-grey haired container laughed. "I'm not one of those demons boy! I am the demon that was contained in the cursed blade. But being so close to such a receptive body, well, I couldn't resist myself – yes, these bodies were meant to contain demon spirits like myself, but whatever created them did something else. The demons chosen to be hosted all possessed special information.

"I knew these demons when I resided in the other side. They were radicals, weak in body but very cunning and creative. One of them though led the others, though she appears to have sold the others off to the humans – giving them weak demons with information so that she could be brought to this world."

"'Sufficiently Advanced Technology'," Ranma mumbled, "could be seen as magic or explain supposedly mystical or magical techniques."

"But they didn't account for the demons that already reside on this side taking control of the bodies!"

The host known as Tessa Testarossa leapt at Ranma wrapping her arms around his neck as she sought to pull him in for a kiss.

Months of mixed signals and bad experiences instinctively made Ranma panic as he backpedalled. But it was too late. Tessa's soft, gentle lips pressed against his, pushing him back and off balance as he sought to flee from her hungry lips. Demonic energies collided as one being tried to feed off the powerful soul of the other and the other simply fought for control.

A blinding flash of light kept the others from interfering, though in truth no one seemed to know what was going on thus no one knew what to do.

Suddenly it was over.

'_NO!'_ a voice screamed in his head.

The feel of a solid hilt in his hands registered in the young martial artist's mind, as did the soft flesh pressed against his chest and the full, firm lips still locked to his own lips.

Killer intent seemed to fill the barracks as dozens of eyes locked on him and the very naked girl straddling him.

Stabbing the sword into the ground Ranma quickly tried to dislodge himself for the petit girl on top of him. "It's not what it looks like!"

"Get him!" someone shouted.

"Avenge the Captain's honor!" another shouted.

"It's not what it looks like!"

# # # # #

Mornings in the Hinata Sou could be called anything but boring. True, things were never boring with the new dorm manager around, but things had really taken a turn for the weird when said manager's cousin had shown up.

Now there were magi, secret organizations, gender cursed martial artists that traveled between parallel dimensions, cursed weapons, and secret lovers from the past showing up wrecking havoc through the Hinata Sou, making things all the more exciting for one particular resident.

Normally Su would have had a hard time waking up, especially since this was a Sunday. And there was the fact that Motoko was away for a special invitation only kendo tournament. But today was different for other reasons.

Having spent the night examining and decrypting the odd flash drive that one dimension jumping traveler had dropped (probably when he was tackled by Haruka's former lover) the inventive young princess was looking forward to seeing just what was on that little device.

X X X X X

Despite proof to the contrary, Keitaro Urashima was having a hard time accepting magic. It wasn't that he didn't know it existed, just that it could do so much. It really was like the Harry Potter books in that it could be used for almost anything, but for it to be broken down and equated to advanced technology… it was amazing really to think of it in those oddly simple terms.

"So you're Keitaro Urashima," Mardukas said as he looked over the young man. "We would have recruited you if not for the fact that your grandmother had defected from our organization."

Absently the master martial artist nodded. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the idea that demons had made a deal with the Russians but had apparently betrayed the Russians. It was like a plot from a bad Sci-fi movie or manga really.

Having returned to the Hinata Sou after Ranma and Sousuke had left only to be recruited by the man that was his cousin/aunt's lover in the other world (and was obviously dead in this world along with Haruka) to help possibly spring Ranma and Sousuke out of some secret militaristic organization's safe house in Tokyo. It was an overwhelming night, especially considering that he'd gone to Nerima to deal with a martial artist that claimed to be Ranma Saotome but ended up being a girl that had been engaged to him instead, then fled her family and took up residence with another young martial artist who's father had once received a secret martial arts technique only to kill himself as he destroyed the building around himself.

It also didn't help that they'd been confronted by Sousuke Sagara's military buddies or that they all had been shot at, resulting in the death of the German boy. The fact that he'd been forced to take Ukyo and Kanako through the Underground just so that they could get back to the Hinata Sou didn't even factor into things, nor did the fact that he was bloody and exhausted.

Fortunately things had worked out and they didn't have to break into the facility.

Still, it was an exhausting night/morning and the young man's tired mind just couldn't keep up with everything that was going on.

X X X X X

There were certain truths that the young Captain of the Tuatha De Danaan had yet to fully grasp despite her relative intelligence. Despite her status as a Whispered, or perhaps because of it, she lacked the decisiveness that Mardukas and even Sagara had. Both were willing to take a life when needed and knew first hand the loss of their comrades on the battlefield. As the Captain she had been told that the unfortunate crewmen who had died when Gauron had captured the ship were merely on guard duty even though she knew that they'd died. But knowing and accepting were two different things.

Knowing that nearly a third of her crew had lost their lives as a result of this most recent betrayal was very hard for the young captain to accept. It didn't help that they had also lost communications with other divisions of Mithril as well.

Clearly this was not like the Gauron incident. No, this was not that simple.

But there was more, oh so much more, that she didn't understand. Having spent the past ten years as a Whispered she knew, no, she believed in technology even though she didn't understand it. But seeing this boy, this martial artist performing unbelievable feats made her doubt what little she knew about the 'Black Technology' that all the Whispered supposedly knew.

Not only could she not explain how this Ranma Saotome could go from being a boy one minute to being a girl the next and back just by being splashed by either hot or cold water, she couldn't explain how he was able to generate the same energy that a Lambda Driver created. And then there was the fact that he could rip through hardened steel as though it were rice paper or could stop an Arm Slave with his bare hands.

In truth everything about Ranma Saotome was unbelievable – and that didn't even factor in the part of his story that involved he, and Sagara, being able to travel to a parallel dimension. If not for the fact that both boys (and the girl and the other Urzu-2) had all passed a polygraph test (tests that had verified virtually everything they had said) Tessa would have thought that their collaborating stories were nothing more than an elaborate trap.

But there were many truths that seemed to add up, secrets that no SRT would know. Yes, Mithril had once been created to deal with what were considered magical threats but were later written off as 'Black Technology' incidents. But it was after the Russian incident that things had changed. The mission had failed because Hinata Urashima, AKA Urzu-1, had betrayed her team, stopping them from preventing the Russians from activating the Omni Sphere a second time and thus, allegedly, activating the Whispered that had survived.

"Though I understand the situation that you are in," the silver-grey haired Captain said as she tried to look Ranma in the face without blushing, "Mithril is not currently in any position to assist you. Our entire organization has been betrayed and currently we have lost communications with other divisions of Mithril."

Ranma nodded. "Fine – but I don't need your people to actually assist me with this. I just need a few items that Mithril collected as well as some of your 'Black Technology'."

"What in particular are you looking for?" Mardukas asked as he stepped up to face the martial artist.

Ranma pulled out the still sheathed cursed blade. Though he was loathed to have to rely on such a tainted weapon, he knew that with it he could find the other Whispered much easier than simply relying on Mithril's broken database. "You know that there is a demonic spirit bound to this blade," he locked eyes with Tessa. Though she had not been in control of her own body she still recalled all that the demon had her do and all the men she'd kissed (all of whom were still in the infirmary). "I'm sure that you have other items that contain bound demons. I believe that with them I might be able to locate Chidori and your brother since they are Whispered and they are suitable hosts for the spirits residing in the cursed items."

It was a stretch, but it was possible given the reaction that Hina had with Tessa.

"I can't help you with that," the young captain replied. "I am not authorized to even mention that we have any facility that is like that or that it is in Okinawa."

Seta nodded. "Of course."

"Of course, we can't have you go off unsupervised either," Tessa added. "That's why I'm going to have Sagara accompany you for your own safety."

Ranma nodded. Though he was unschooled in the subtle double talk he knew enough to know that he was getting help in one form or another.

X X X X X

The short flight to Okinawa wasn't long enough for the three exhausted travelers. After a full night and long morning the few hours of sleep they caught on the flight was clearly not enough for the strapping young men. Still, it was much better than nothing.

The further away he was from Tessa the safer Ranma felt as the cursed blade once again trying to wear away at him.

"I've never possessed a woman's body before," the demonic blade stated as it assumed Tessa's petit form.

It didn't help that once again 'Tessa' was nude just as she was when Ranma had first encountered the possessed girl.

"All the energy that I gained from all those soldiers – it could be yours," the nubile girl taunted Ranma. "You know that you were created to be a host as well, but it's just a matter of time before Sophia takes control of you."

"'Sophia'," the raven haired boy replied, "I'd think a demon would be called something more menacing like 'Akroma', 'Acranis', 'Ishan', 'Sengir' or something like that."

"I told you that I once knew the demon spirits that are now contained by your precious 'Whispered', did I not? They were all half-demons, not true demons. They lived nearly human lives, and learned your ways, but eventually their half-human bodies died. When they did their half-demon souls continued to thrive, but without a body they were useless. Still, as half-humans they are able to travel through the barrier that separates the Maki realm from the human realm much easier, even disembodied as they were.

"Even with their weak bodies they will be threats to the human world if they are all united. At least in this world as there are no worthy humans who can stop them without the aid of technology, and they have the best 'technology'."

"Power without skill is useless," Ranma stated. "I'm still the best. I managed to get you out of Tessa by just putting my hands on the sword after all."

"I am still weak from being bound," the spirit stated as it groped itself. "None of the soldiers was even a fraction of your power or skill, but in this world I have to take what I can get. This is a world where most seem to lack any spirit."

"Yeah," Ranma said.

"You could be a king here," the spirit taunted. "With your power, skill, and spirit, combined with the black technology you could rule this world. No one would dare oppose you."

"Ranma," Seta said as he gently shook the sleeping boy, "we're here."

Blinking, Ranma nodded as he regained his bearings. All around him the other passengers were gathering their carryon luggage.

"Ranma," Sousuke said as the scarred soldier glanced at the martial artist, "did you dye your hair?"

Shaking his head the martial artist stood up. "Why?"

"Your hair," Keitaro said, "it's completely black again."

# # # # #

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Notes –

Sigh… Things have gone slowly on the writing front as those of you who follow any of my fics know. There is a lot of house work, yard work, and family stuff to do and deal with. I've yet to start my garden though I have started dealing with the lawn, too bad I just got a lawn mower…

So, expect more delays between my updates as I actually do have a life outside of writing and writing is only a hobby, not a job/career.

Oh, if you've checked my profile the past few weeks you might have noticed some polls I posted. I've posted the results of the first few 'bouts' and will be adding more polls and results as they happen. Please stop by the profile and cast your vote for who you'd think would win in a fight.

X X X X X

Few of the people who truly knew the muscled martial artist would ever dare to call him stupid. True, he often came up with insane ideas and plans, but they usually worked – usually.

His greatest failure had been the Neko-ken training, the one that had broken his frail son and made the boy lose control. That one failure had lead to his downfall, and the eventual downfall of all the martial artists in Japan.

He hadn't expected the Tendo's to do well against someone highly trained in the Yamasenken, but to see that strange boy, the one who also claimed to be Ranma Saotome defeat the other Ranma Saotome with variations of the Umisenken surprised him.

Following them had been harder than he'd expected as the boy clearly knew the flaws of the basic Umisenken and Yamasenken, yet years of hard work had helped Genma develop new moves for both of those schools and styles – moves that made it impossible for even this Ranma Saotome to sense him.

But it was the unexpected attack on the group as they encountered another group that interested Genma. Why was Mithril interested in this boy? And why was Amalgam interested in the SRT squad that was assigned to tail this boy?

Then suddenly the boy vanished in a cloud of tear gas.

Still, if his hunch was right, following the less skilled Urashima brats would lead him back to the boy. And it would get him inside the Hinata Sou as well. Yes, following the three martial artists was clearly the right path.

As he suspected the brats had lead him to the Hinata Sou, and through a path that even he didn't know about.

Hiding in the shadows he'd listened as the brats spoke with his former master and the returned Ranma Saotome. Not his Ranma, but a Ranma who had survived the Neko-ken training. It was what his son would have been had he succeeded.

Though he could not approach the boy, Genma knew that he would have to help, and hopefully fight the boy. If this really was the boy who lived, then he should be strong – he should be the best martial artist that lived.

Yes, Genma would have to test the boy, but not yet.

He had to make sure that the boy was going to come looking for him. But what bait could he use? The girl, Kanako, and her brother had gone with him. But the other girls – Ryoko and Motoko, they remained behind. Yes, he would use them to get to the boy.

X X X X X

The light autumn rain in Okinawa quickly dispelled any illusions that Ranma had of the region. Having always thought that the southernmost part of Japan was always warm and sunny, the fairly gloomy weather instead reminded the cursed martial artist that he was not in the popular tourist destination to enjoy himself.

But at least the rain helped him, now in his cursed form, not to think about why his hair had returned to its original lustrous black despite the fact that he'd just bleached it a few days ago. Though he couldn't completely explain it, he did have a sneaking suspicion about why his hair (and his recent injuries) had healed over so quickly. True, he'd always healed fast, but this was something else altogether.

Though the cursed Hina blade was hidden in stuff-space he knew that the bond he shared with the demonic blade had strengthened, allowing the blade to speak to his mind directly and to invade his dreams. While the blade could only tempt him with offers of power (offers of conquering women just didn't work for Ranma as the blade quickly discovered), Ranma was not the type to just take power freely. Sure, he would accept new powerful techniques, but not raw power. After all, what good was power without the skill and knowledge to control it?

Still, it was tempting. Unfortunately the one thing that Ranma desired right now was something that the sword could not offer him – a way to resolve his current problems.

"This is it," the mercenary proclaimed as he stood before a deserted restaurant.

"This is the 'Shrine'?" Seta asked skeptically.

Sagara nodded.

This was the 'technological' dimension after all. Given the heavy reliance on technology it shouldn't have surprised the quintet of travelers that the place looked to be run down and decrepit. Well, it probably was pretty run down to begin with (all the better to make people overlook it) but after nearly a decade of neglect it looked even worse. And yet it was clear to the keen eyes of the four fighters that despite how neglected the place appeared to be it was still very well maintained. The barb wired fence was solid and not even rusted despite the humid, salty sea air, signifying that someone was around to take care of the place.

A flicker of movement alerted the party of dimension traveling fighters, instantly putting them on the alert as they scanned the area. After a few heart pumping moments of not seeing any signs of anyone being present the quartet advanced. Only one of them couldn't scale the barb wire obstruction resulting in Sagara being thrown over the fence by Ranma but landing in a crouched roll. The other four travelers quickly leapt over the three meter tall fence, instantly adopting an alert stance as they once again sensed the presence of another person.

"We're from the _Tuatha de Danaan_," Sagara proclaimed. Having not seen anyone for several blocks the scarred mercenary knew that there were no prying ears, or at least he hoped so. Though Hinata Urashima had been a founding member of Mithril and she had defected to Amalgam, she had not known about this facility as she had not had access to that information. Still, it was possible that she had an idea.

"Name and rank?" a female voice demanded from the shadows.

"Sergeant Sousuke Sagara," the soldier stated, "call sign Urzu-7."

The sound of rain drops falling against the beaten aluminum roof and siding was all that the group got as Sagara identified himself.

"The others are consultants," Sousuke lied.

Without even glancing at the others Ranma slipped into the Umisenken, hiding his presence from the hidden woman and his companions. Like a skilled thief he sought out the hidden soldier's position in the sandy dune, taking great care to not trip the laser trip-wires that were set up around her as Sagara and the others kept her attention.

"I received no word that anyone was coming here," the soldier stated.

"I'm sure you know that command is in chaos," Sagara replied. "Amalgam has activated its sleeper agents inside of Mithril. We're here to make sure that they haven't sent anyone to capture the items at this facility."

"That's a lie," the woman stated, calling the Sergeant's bluff.

Springing over the trip-wires, Ranma landed on the woman, digging his hands through the sand covering the woman and the cloth that kept her from being completely buried. Though he didn't try to, his purposeful hands grasped hold of the woman's very ample breasts as he wrestled with her. After only a moment of squirming he'd managed to pin her arms to her body even as he locked his hands over her wrists.

"What are you doing?" Sousuke exclaimed.

"Tessa told us that this is unsanctioned, right?" the raven haired boy turned redheaded girl replied as he pulled the woman out of the ground.

The clearly busty woman didn't make it easy for Ranma as she continued to squirm, even managing to kick him in the head. It didn't help that she was positioned that her curvy and firm buttocks were pressed to his neck and breasts – not to mention that she was significantly taller than his current form. Yes, clearly he'd misjudged her positioning when he'd jumped on top of her.

Standing tall, and ignoring the struggling woman, he shifted his weight to his right then quickly shifted it to the left as he released his hold on her. Suddenly he had her upright and her firm buttock was pressed against his groin. It was a mistake he'd never make again as the busty woman lifted her right leg and then bent it back at the knee, her heel swiftly connecting with his groin. At least he was in his female form or else that would have really hurt.

"Would you just knock her out?" Kanako sighed, as she took a step towards the pair of wrestling girls.

"Laser wire!" Ranma pointed out, glad that the difference in their height kept her from head-butting him.

'_Crush her! Show her your power!'_

Ranma squeezed her, crushing the air out of her lungs even as she fought him. His currently smaller size gave him considerable leverage as he squeezed her.

"Ranma," Sagara growled as he placed his hand on the raven haired boy's wrist, trying to pull Ranma's wrists apart.

"Ranma," Seta said as he reached for Ranma's other wrist, "she's out cold."

The raven haired martial artists blinked.

"You've transformed," Kanako stated.

Ranma continued to blink as he processed all that was going on. The light rain had stopped, but that didn't explain why he was in his true form rather than his cursed form.

'_I can give you power.'_

Slowly he released his hold on the barely moving woman, ignoring the scornful look that Sagara was giving him as the scarred warrior lowered the woman to the damp sand.

'_I can give you control over your curse.'_

"Wha-what are you doing here?" the brunette woman asked.

Ranma turned his back to the woman as he scanned the area, "We're here for the items that are housed here."

Had he blacked out? Had the sword tried to control him?

Shaking his head, Ranma searched for the entrance to the hidden warehouse.

"Why are you helping them?" the woman asked Sagara as she took in deep breaths and filled her lungs of much needed air.

"Mithril's been attacked," Sagara stated. "We're trying to get to the person who's responsible, but to do that we might need the things stored here."

"What's your name?" the older man asked as he approached the pair of Mithril agents.

"Mutsumi Otohime," the busty brunette replied. "I haven't heard from command in over a year, and that was to inform me that they were cutting back on my budget."

The scarred soldier blinked, "You're the only one stationed here?"

Mutsumi nodded. "They've been cutting back on our budget every year for the past seven years. Now I'm the only agent left.

"Will these mystical treasures really help you?"

Sagara shrugged, "I don't know."

"I found the entrance," Ranma shouted.

Everyone turned to the raven haired boy, watching as a golden glow encompassed him. Slowly the glowing energy migrated to his right hand, forming into a ball. A moment later and the ball was gone, crashing into the sand beneath where Mutsumi had been hiding.

"H-how?" the astonished soldier exclaimed.

"Long story," Seta replied. "But we believe that he might be able to use the items because he possesses mystical abilities."

Ignoring the others, Ranma examined the glassy remains of the dune as the smoke and dust settled. The spiraling stairs went down at least several meters from what he could tell. Taking the steps three at a time he quickly made his way down through the oppressive darkness. By the time he reached the first landing his eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

Above him, he could hear the sounds of his companions taking the first few steps down from the sand.

Two more landings down and the stairwell ended leading to a titanium door. Rapping his knuckles against the metal door he could tell that it was thick and solid. Taking a step back he forced ki into his muscles, bone, tendons, and skin as he prepared to hit the door.

"Wait!" Seta shouted. "If this Avalon is anything like the one I know than the doors are re-enforced with a seal that will redirect the force of your punch against you."

Ranma blinked, taking in the information.

"The only way through would be to use the access code," Mutsumi explained as she followed the agent from the other dimension.

Patiently (for Ranma at least) the raven haired boy waited for the others to descend the few flights of stairs.

"Don't I know you?" Keitaro asked as he walked behind the busty young woman.

Kanako silently fumed. "Mutsumi Otohime," she said, "her mother once worked for grandmother. It appears that she was also part of Mithril."

The busty woman paused as she stood before the controls to the door. "You're Keitaro Urashima, the heir to the Urashima clan and grandson to Hinata Urashima."

Keitaro blinked, a shred of memory coming back to him. "We used to play together at the Hinata Sou."

Turning back to the control panel, Mutsumi pressed her palm against the scanner then pressed several buttons. The sounds of hidden hydraulics and shifting gears filled the tiny passageway. Suddenly the floor beneath Mutsumi vanished beneath her, swallowing the busty agent even as a titanium wall fell into place behind them. The hole in the floor quickly was replaced with a metal, leaving the four travelers trapped.

"You should have just let me break down the door," Ranma growled as the little lighting that had existed was now shut off completely.

Ever resourceful, Keitaro pulled out a flash light.

Mimicking the young Todai student, the professor did the same, "Sorry bout that. Clearly she has issues with your grandmother."

"Yeah," Keitaro grumbled.

Ranma nodded as he pulled out his own flashlight. "Yeah, this one betrayed Mithril after all."

Having been raised as a proud Amazon warrior the violet haired young woman was supposed to be fearless. As the junior champion of the tribes she was officially recognized as the best fighter of her generation – and yet Shampoo knew the sad truth – she was a distant second. Yes, she had defeated Mouse several times with her feminine charms, but in a test of martial arts skill she was far behind him. Not only was he a master of hidden weapons, but he was a master of all the weapons that he used while she had only mastered the chui and was only learning advanced techniques with the twin long swords.

Then there was the fact that she really couldn't claim to have a true victory over her rivals – the tomboy girl or the crazy gymnast. Yes, she had defeated Akane Tendo convincingly, but she hadn't crushed her as she had wanted to after Ranma had restored the youngest Tendo's memory.

Still, she should have focused on crushing the other girls or at least improving her skills so that she could crush them and possibly bring Ranma back so that she could restore her honor. Having foolishly focused on the multitude of tricks and plots to win/convince Ranma to come back to China with her had not been rewarding despite how much 'fun' she supposedly had. No, it would have been more fun to bring her husband back and restore her honor rather than having all that chaos erupt around her.

Had she forcibly brought him back she wouldn't have been placed in her current predicament. Yes, she'd previously faced the Phoenix warriors, but that was like a light skirmish against the true elites that guarded this sacred weapon. The long clear crystalline blade was longer than a traditional long sword but had an inner fire that would have seared the flesh off of any who faced it. Only the cross-guard kept the welder from burning oneself, though just barely, and the mysterious handle was unexpectedly cool to the touch. Clearly there had been great magic at work inside the blade, but why her honored grandmother had requested this item was still beyond her comprehension. Hopefully the acquisition of this blade would further endear her to the flighty Ranma, hopefully.

X X X X X

Taking the hilt of his combat knife, Keitaro tapped it against the metal door. "Sounds like its steel with titanium re-enforcing it," he stated as he listened to the sound of the metal on metal impact. "Spider-man could get us out. I think it's only ten centimeters thick. He'd definitely be able to get through the door."

"Spider-man?" Ranma scoffed, "Really?"

"He's supposed to be able to lift 65 metric tons easily and goes up to 75 metric tons," Seta stated, surprising the others at just how much he knew about American comic book heroes.

"Can you talk about something other than superheroes and archeology?" the lone female of the group exclaimed. After hours of listening to them try and talk about common elements in both worlds the group had discovered that manga and anime, as well as TV shows were pretty much limited to one dimension or the other while older things like classic anime and manga (or comics) existed in both worlds. Unfortunately those things failed to capture Kanako's interest.

"Where do you think she's gone to?" Keitaro mused.

This subject was also a sore one for the gothic Urashima. "She's probably looted the place."

"She wouldn't loot it," Sagara interjected. "As the guardian agent stationed here she probably is relocating the items to a more secure location."

"Why don't you guys just let me use the sword?" Ranma asked.

"No!" the others shouted in unison. Though they all respected Ranma's martial arts prowess, they feared the influence of the cursed blade had on him. In a crowded space there was no room for any of them to properly dodge and none of them believed for a second that they could restrain him if he did lose control of himself. The thought of Ranma (who was in his male form) kissing them so that he could steal their ki also didn't help matters.

"Is it me," Keitaro said finally, breaking up the silence, "or is it getting hot in here?"

The sound of something heavy impacting the other side of the door caused the companions to scramble to the opposite end of the tiny enclosed hallway as loose sand fell from the ceiling. The sound of metal straining as it was bent by mighty arms greeted the trapped companions' ears. Agonizingly long minutes later and fresh air finally slipped past the tiny gap between the door and the wall.

Gouts of flame seemed to barrage the titanium door, weakening it just enough for the titanic might of their savior to bend the door back. But the sound of hydraulics and the sight of several giant fingers pulling back the edge of the door made the group uneasy.

"Ranma," Seta said as he pulled out his gun, "cut down that other door."

Pulling the cursed blade out of its sheath he turned his attention to the unmarred titanium. Recalling what he'd seen of the Yamasenken's Vacuum Blade technique Ranma hoped that he erased any doubt from his mind. Focusing his energy ki into the blade, Ranma slashed at it. Though the blade never touched the titanium door the energy he had poured into the blade cut the hard surface. Three more precise cuts later and rectangle fell off.

"That's not one of ours," Sagara stated from behind him.

Looking at the hand Ranma sheathed the sword. Glancing at the fingers that slowly pulled back the titanium he indicated the portal he'd just cut out. "I've seen it before," he stated. "In Hinata."

"Go!" Sagara urged Kanako.

The lithe girl didn't need to be told twice as she leapt through the hole. Keitaro quickly followed suit, then Seta, Ranma, and finally Sagara.

"I told you I should have just cut it before," the pigtailed martial artist stated as he eyed the next door.

Seta simply ignored him. "If this Avalon is like the one I know then the corridor takes a 90 degree turn to the left before slowly sloping down. There will be a fifteen meter vertical drop then a heavy security vault door.

"I can set up an electrical barrier there and other traps to slow them down but that's about it. I don't know if it'll stop an Arm Slave, but it should stop any troops that come through."

"I'm pretty sure that an Arm Slave wouldn't fit in here," Sagara stated. Glancing behind him he spotted the slightly furry outline of one of the miniature arm slaves that he had designed. "Never mind."

Pulling out a pack of C-4 he slammed it against the wall.

"How the hell did you get that past airport security?" Kanako shouted even as the scarred soldier threw her a rifle.

"I have my ways," he replied as he pulled out a shot gun for Keitaro.

"Ooh, a rocket propelled grenade launcher," Seta smirked as he accepted the weapon. "Let me finish setting this trap and I'll catch up."

"Watch out for the land mines," Sagara advised.

The four youngsters rushed ahead.

"Wait," Kanako exclaimed as she glanced back at Seta, "how do we get out?"

"Through them," Seta smirked as he loaded the grenade launcher.

"I had a feeling he was going to say that," Kanako grumbled as she rounded the corner.

Ranma lead the way down, slashing at the various doors so that they could get through the passageway. The Urashimas followed quickly behind while the scarred soldier began setting mines and other explosives behind the remains of the doors.

The sound of a booming explosion told them that Seta had begun to engage the unknown assailants. It didn't take long for the lab coat wearing man to appear at the end of the corridor, stopping to turn around and fire off another shot at the unseen pursuers. Jumping around the corner, he avoided a barrage of bullets. Pulling the pin from a grenade he threw it around the corner before jumping over the landmine that Sagara had set beneath the remains of one of the doors that Ranma had cut down.

"Only two shots?" he teased as he crouched behind the remains of another door.

Sagara shrugged, "It's all I could fit on the bandolier." Pulling out another shot gun he set it beside the pack of C-4 he set. Pulling out a detonator he triggered the first explosion at the entrance.

The corridor trembled at the force of the explosion.

"Aim for the sensor on the nose," he advised. "It's not a kill shot, but it will disable them. Even a shot from the shot gun should disable their sensor array."

Further ahead Ranma had reached the vertical shaft. The gently glowing light from his watch was not enough to illuminate the drop, but it had given him just enough light to see the ledge. "Fifteen meters," he mumbled, hoping that he'd heard Seta correctly. Reaching into stuff-space he pulled out a grappling hook and line. Slamming the end into the concrete wall he leapt over the ledge at the closest wall. Having already endured further drops, Ranma knew that he could handle the drop, but the others might not be able to.

In a flash he was at the bottom of the shaft. "Clear," he proclaimed as he approached the giant fortified door. Pulling out the cursed blade he set his feet before slashing at the door again.

The sudden blow back from his attack being redirected at him nearly caught him off guard. If not for the warning that Seta had given him before Ranma would have been completely caught off guard, as it was he would have to pick up a new pair of pants or at least stitch the large tare along his right calf.

Rushing back to the shaft Ranma hoped that Sousuke was close by. "Hey, get me the rocket launcher or some explosives."

"Got it," Keitaro replied. "We're going to need something to shield us from the blast – get one of the doors."

Nodding, Ranma leapt at the wall then kicked off towards the other wall. After a few leaps he was back at the top of the shaft even as Keitaro was now descending the rope. The sound of gunfire and explosions greeted him even as he took the remains of the closest door and headed back towards the shaft.

"I really hate this world," Ranma grumbled as he leapt down the shaft with the remains of the door in tow.

Holding up the door, he waited for Keitaro to finish setting the charges.

"Ready," the Urashima heir stated as he rushed Ranma. Leaping behind the makeshift barrier he helped brace the steel door that stood between them and the explosives. Pinned between the door and the wall they nodded at each other.

The explosion nearly deafened Ranma and Keitaro. Still, it proved to be just enough as the giant re-enforced door appeared to be straining against the hinges that remained.

Even as Keitaro examined the door, Ranma simply focused on the remaining hinges. Several quick slashes of the powerful demonic blade cut through the steel hinges. Pulling the door out of the threshold, Ranma smirked. "That wasn't too hard."

"Yeah, sure," Keitaro returned over the sound of increasing gun fire. "Better hurry."

# # # # #

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Notes –

I've had to make some changes due to issues with uploading the files to which made my old form of breaking scenes appear, or rather disappear, thus making things seem jumbled. # # # # # before a scene denotes something happening in the home world/dimension, and X X X X X denotes scenes in the alternate world.

Yes, I'm using elements of the anime, manga, and in some cases the light novel for each of the sources for this crossover fic. No, I do not own Ranma ½, Love Hina, Negima, Full Metal Panic, Bio-booster Guyver, Witchblade, or Kurohime.

Other than that, well, I've been busy with yard work for the new house, so yeah, I haven't been updating as much as I did over winter when it was cold outside. Yes, go outside and enjoy the weather – especially with House done for the season.

# # # # #

While most people would have enjoyed a relaxing trip down to Okinawa, Hinata Urashima dreaded going there. In the ten years that she'd been retired from Mithril the former adventurer never once considered her former subordinates or what they were up to. Urzu-2 was the exception as she'd personally recruited him – not to mention that he'd also had that kind of relationship with her granddaughter/adopted daughter.

Despite her personal connection to Urzu-7, Hinata had not visited her former subordinate, not since she'd retired. Though Natsumi had worked at the Hinata Sou back when she first had her oldest daughter, but things had changed after Mutsumi had fallen ill. Being recalled to Okinawa and taken off of the active roster so that she could take care of her ill daughter and raise her family, Natsumi Otohime had her own life to live.

Only the unfortunate passing of Natsumi's husband just over three years ago had allowed the two women to catch up. Though Natsumi was busy raising her family, she still maintained her position within Mithril as the head of the secret facility that housed all of the magical items that the Pacific branch of Mithril had acquired.

Armed with that knowledge, Hinata Urashima made her way to Okinawa. Though she had not been part of Project Avalon, she knew enough about how Mithril operated to deduce just where the secret facility was in Okinawa. Even without Seta and Natsumi's help the former leader of SRT 1 managed to slip into the facility. Now all she had to do was plant the tag once it started to glow.

X X X X X

"Captain!" Melissa shouted as she rushed into the makeshift command room.

"Yes?" the still recovering silver haired girl exclaimed as she looked up from the map of the Pacific fleet.

"We've received word from Avalon," the busty half-Chinese woman stated.

"They're under attack," Tessa stated as she glanced down at a map of Japan.

Melissa Mao blinked, slightly startled by the captain's cool demeanor, "Yes, but not by Sagara and his friends. It looks like Amalgam's rogue forces – there is a squad of the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves assaulting Avalon."

"It'll be three hours before any of our forces can arrive to back them up," the young captain stated as she grabbed the end of her long braid. "Have any available satellites brought up – I want to see what's going on. Deploy SRT 3 and Support Team 6 and 7. I want the rebuilt support teams 3 and 4 on stand-by."

X X X X X

The empty darkness of the storage room was clearly not what Ranma was expecting as he stepped into the 'Shrine'. Having spent what seemed like years fighting the various magical beings or those tainted by magic, the raven haired boy had expected, well, something more. Considering all the stuff that the Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse had thrown at him, not to mention what Happosai and Ryoga used against him, Ranma had expected this secret organization that was supposed to be collecting magical artifacts and cursed items to have acquired more things. But the nearly empty room was clearly underwhelming.

At first he thought it was the overwhelming darkness that hid everything from him, but after allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness he knew that he was right – Mithril just hadn't acquired that many magical artifacts. The fact that Mutsumi Otohime was huddling in the back corner seemed to further that argument as it was clear that the sole guardian of Avalon had not taken a majority of the items stored in there.

"So, you finally made it?" the busty brunette asked as she leveled a gun at Ranma.

"We're not your enemies," Ranma declared.

'_Ranma?'_ a voice called out, piercing him mind.

"Moe?" Mutsumi exclaimed.

"Who's 'Moe'?" the martial artist asked. "I thought you said you were the only one stationed here."

'_Ranma?'_ the voice once again spoke directly into the pair's minds. _'I thought you said he had died Mutsumi.'_

"You can't really be Ranma," the brunette gasped as she lowered her gun. "Ranma died…"

"Nearly ten years ago," he finished. "The Ranma Saotome of this world died nearly ten years ago – but I'm not that Ranma. In my world I survived that training."

'_The Frozen Flame,'_ the young girl's voice projected into Ranma and Mutsumi's minds.

Suddenly Ranma and Mutsumi found themselves standing before a young girl in an old fashioned dress. But she wasn't really a girl; just made to resemble one – she was a marionette of sorts. Her styled dishwater blond hair and blue eyes were artificial, and her joints, the ones he saw, were clear indications that she was not a real human.

"It's really you," Moe stated as she walked over to hold Ranma's hand.

"Moe?" he exclaimed as an elusive childhood memory surfaced inside of his mind.

Around them the white void was replaced with a hazy scene as two young boys stood before the marionette.

"We promised to fix your legs," Ranma stated as he glanced down at the artificial girl's legs.

"Is Kei here too?"

Ranma nodded, realizing that her lips were actually moving, something that she appeared to be able to actually do in this dreamscape. That and stand up.

"Yes, but we don't have time, the facility's under attack," Ranma explained.

Moe pointed to a large shot-gun appearing weapon, "That's witch-gun. It's supposed to allow the user to shoot magic bullets with varying affects."

Ranma rushed to the big gun. "It's empty."

"It can use regular bullets, but a master of the witch-gun will be able to create magic bullets for the gun,"Moe explained.

"How do you know so much about the gun?"

"There's only so much for her to do in nearly twelve years of being here," Mutsumi explained. "Moe seems to be able to understand the handful of items that Mithril collected, unfortunately she can't tell us how to recreate them or control them."

The marionette's childlike voice seemed to ease Ranma's mind even as she explained the qualities of the witch-gun. "And this is the Witchblade," she said as she pointed out a silver and golden bracelet with a perfectly round red jewel.

"What's it do?" Ranma asked as he eyed the mysterious artifact.

"It's a weapon of immense power from ancient times," the tiny marionette replied. "Only a woman with a pure heart and intent can use it. It chooses the wearer."

"Good to know," the sex-changing martial artist grumbled. "And the ring?"

"The Glacier Stone," Moe answered. "It has the power to freeze virtually anything."

The young martial artist nodded as he contemplated the usefulness of the item.

"That is the demonic armor – Hannya," Moe stated_, "_and the blood-thirsty Kien. If you've become the warrior that your father wanted you to become I know that you can use them."

Ranma bristled at the mention of his father. Still, the young martial artist walked over to the demonic armor and blade.

"And that sword?" he asked as he pointed to the sheathed blade.

"The Kusanagi," Moe said as she nodded her head.

"You mean _the_ Kusanagi?"

Moe and Mutsumi nodded.

"So it really exists?" he asked.

"As does the Ruyi Jingu Bang."

Ranma blinked. "What?"

"Did you ever read _Journey to the West_?" Mutsumi asked.

Ranma shook his head. Though he was slightly intelligent, he rarely read anything other than manga or scrolls on various techniques – and forget about school assignments.

Mutsumi shook her head. "Think Goku from Dragon Ball Z," she suggested as she pointed out the black iron staff that hung from the wall.

"But his power pole was red," Ranma said as he eyed the staff. Setting aside Hina he willed himself to move towards the staff to no result.

"You possess the Hina Blade?" Moe exclaimed as she noted the demonic blade beside Ranma.

"Yeah, why?" he replied as he eyed the girl, momentarily forgetting the magical weapons before him.

"That was the only weapon that Hinata Urashima took with her when she betrayed Mithril for Amalgam," Mutsumi stated. "She used the cursed weapon to kill my father."

Ranma blinked. Clearly there were some issues between Hinata Urashima and Mithril.

"If you are able to unite the items in this world with their counterparts in the other world you can make them stronger," Moe suggested.

"What about that?" the pigtailed boy pointed to the cylindrical metal case in the shadows of the dreamscape. He really hoped that this wasn't just a silly dream caused by him getting knocked out.

"That I don't know," Moe replied in her very childlike voice. "It's old, very old, and grants terrifying power."

"Cool," he smirked, "so how do we use it?"

"I don't know," the marionette replied. "It doesn't talk to me like the others – but even the Witchblade and Ruyi Jingu, which are the oldest of the others, are young compared to that."

"They talk to you?"

"Yes, we do," a redheaded woman answered.

Ranma looked up from the tiny marionette at the busty woman in barely there gold and silver armor that clung to her curvy body that had replaced the Witchblade. But it wasn't just the bracelet that had taken on a human appearance – the demonic armor was replaced with a menacing samurai that wielded the demonic sword and the witch-gun was replaced with a busty woman with silvery-blond hair and a skimpy leather outfit. Ranma spun around to look at the mysterious alien artifact and the vaguely human monstrosity that appeared in its place. Only the Kusanagi and Ruyi Jingu Bang failed to produce avatars.

"We can make you and your friends stronger," a familiar voice proclaimed.

The young martial artists didn't need to turn around to see a naked Tessa. Like the others, the cursed sword was using its previous owner as its template for their avatars.

"But there is a cost of course," the facsimile of the young Mithril Captain smirked.

Ranma glanced at the avatar of the cursed blade.

Tessa's face smirked in a cruel smile that the real girl would never have had on her innocent face. "Will you pay the price?"

X X X X X

"What the hell is he up to?" Sagara shouted as he blasted the head off of one of his miniature Arm Slaves.

"Why the hell did you make those again?" Kanako countered as she reloaded her rifle. "Shit! I'm only got six shots left!"

"I'm down to my last clip!" Seta shouted as he pulled the pin of a grenade before lobbing it over the remains of the steel door Ranma had cut through.

"Save them," Keitaro declared as he threw a large gun and ammo to the scarred soldier.

The other fighters looked up at the Todai student then to the young girl clad in blood red samurai armor as he calmly walked into the breech.

"Moe will explain how to use those," Ranma stated. With an almost casual swipe he cut down a barrage of bullets. With his free hand he tossed a metal, cylindrical case at Seta.

"Who's Moe?" Sagara asked as he eyed the unusual gun.

'_I can't speak to them like I speak to you, Keitaro, and Mutsumi,'_ the marionette interjected.

"I forgot about that," Ranma grumbled as he pulled out the gold and silver bracelet, tossing it to Kanako. With the Witchblade no longer in his possession he transformed back into his true form. "Sagara, that weapon is known as the…"

'Witch-gun.'

"Witch-gun – it's possible of performing magic, though you have to imbue the bullets with magic. You've got three magical bullets so use them wisely. Think of the Lambda Driver – imbue the bullets with your intent and then shoot. You've can also use regular bullets but the gun will still shoot them much harder and faster than anything you've got.

"Seta; that's Ryu Jing Bang."

The bespectacled man looked questioningly at Ranma.

'_Ruyi Jingu Bang,'_ Moe corrected.

"Oh, the Ruyi Jingu Bang," Ranma shrugged.

"The Ruyi Jingu Bang?" Seta exclaimed as he eyed the legendary weapon. As an archeologist he'd heard of the mythical weapon but never thought he'd actually see it much less that Mithril had somehow acquired it.

"Kanako; that's the Glacier stone," he said as he tossed her a platinum ring with a snowy blue stone. "You can freeze stuff with it."

The others looked at the items Ranma had given them as they considered what the now pigtailed boy had told them.

Though he was the most skeptical about magic, Sagara gripped the unusual gun. Though it appeared to be similar to an old fashioned rifle, the gun had a triangular revolving barrel that seemed to adapt to suit the bullets that he had. Loading the unique weapon, he caressed odd patterns on the silver and black mahogany handle. Standing tall he spun around, quickly acquiring his targets before pulling the trigger.

A giant, flaming serpent erupted from the barrel of the gun. Twisting like an airborne snake, the bright orange flame lit up the dark passage before it finally enveloping the Bonta-kun Arm Slave. Not content to claim just the first AT, the flame serpent moved onto the second, leaving the first a smoldering pile of melted slag and burnt flesh and plastic.

"Wow!" Seta exclaimed as he eyed the now blazing pair of Arm Slaves. Gripping the heavy black iron rod he sighed as he felt the power radiate from the weapon.

Taking advantage of cover fire provided by Sousuke, Ranma leapt over the door. Running low to the ground he quickly rushed past the smoldering remains of the two AS consumed by Sagara's first shot. The deal he'd struck with the avatars of the weapons would allow the others to master their weapons quickly without any consequence to themselves. Still, he didn't want to think of the price that he'd agreed to for the weapons' allegiance. With the blood thirsty Kien in one hand and the Hina in his other he cut a bloody swath through the Arm Slaves and their support. With each kill he – no, Hannya, became stronger, thus boosting his own ki reserves and power as well as the blades absorbed the souls of the unfortunate soldiers and channeled them into the demonic armor.

Yes, Hannya and Kien had been sealed away for a reason, but he needed the demonic weapons to find his way home.

Stabbing into the armored stomach of one of the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves, Ranma slashed down, eviscerating the soldier inside before withdrawing Kien. In his right he lopped off the leg of another AS, cutting the soldier inside and leaving him with out his lower leg. A quick stab with Kien silenced the man inside. Taking care to not cut any of the weapons, the blood soaked martial artist knew that Sagara and the others would need the extra ammo, Ranma moved to the next advancing squad.

Two shots rang out behind him, forcing Ranma to instinctively leap to the side to avoid being hit with friendly fire. Suddenly a wave of immense ki filled the passage as it brushed by him. Glancing back, Ranma watched Seta rushed past him. With precise strikes the older man disarmed the soldiers before powerful kicks knocked them down.

A steel bodied Keitaro armed with the Kusanagi followed, cutting down the remaining support soldiers before even Ranma could move in to claim their souls. Stray blasts of freezing energy lanced out, freezing the once hot barrels of the enemies' guns and immobilizing the Arm Slaves in blocks of crushing ice. Behind him Sagara began to inspect the discarded weapons, keeping those that were still working and ammo while Mutsumi and the now human Moe walked towards the exit.

"We'll secure the exit," Ranma stated as he stepped away from the wall.

"Tell Keitaro and Kanako that the spell won't last long," Sagara stated as he examined a Gatling gun.

The pigtailed boy nodded as he slipped into the darkness. Hearing the painful groan of one of the still alive though unconscious soldiers, Ranma fought the urge to swiftly cut the man's throat with the Kien. With Hina in hand he was able to sense the life energies of the handful of men that the Urashima siblings and Seta had not killed. The magical ice and the armor of the AS unit would not be enough to keep Ranma from claiming their lives had he really wanted to, but taking a life in cold blood even though they were still on the battle field was one thing – taking the life of an active combatant who could defend or fight for themselves was another altogether. Though his hands shook as they restrained the demonic blades Ranma managed to control them and himself, preventing any unnecessary bloodshed.

A sudden warm sensation from his pocket though changed his mind. Pulling out the slip of paper he eyed the glowing ruin. _'Granny's in place. I just hope they can make it to the beach.'_

X X X X X

"SRT 3 reports that they have picked up the Shrine Maiden," the officer manning the radio stated.

Tessa nodded her head. "Any casualties?"

"None ma'am," he replied. "All fighting had ceased before SRT 3 and their support team arrived. They've taken the rest of the items from the Shrine and are relocating them to another Shrine."

The silver-grey haired girl nodded.

"They report that none of the Amalgam assault team survived," he added.

"Do we still have the Relic and the Jewel in our possession?"

The officer checked the radio, repeating the captain's question. "Yes, the Maiden has secured the Relic and the Jewel, but she says that they took the Doll."

Despite her best efforts, Tessa couldn't help but tremble at the news. If Ranma and his team were capable of taking out two squads of the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves and their supporting squads with just a handful of items what could they do with the more powerful and destructive items? Did Ranma know just how powerful those items were or had he simply overlooked them? "Get the Shrine Maiden here ASAP – I need to debrief her."

# # # # #

"Sir!" the young officer exclaimed as he saluted the grey haired commander.

Returning the salute, the grizzled Russian eyed the youngster.

"Avalon is reporting that they were breeched," the bald officer stated.

"What? When, did it happen and how?"

"There were five individuals, we don't know how, but they breeched Avalon at approximately 0230," the officer reported.

"Casualties?"

"None."

"Loses?"

"The Shrine Maiden's report says that the Triple Barrel, Lightning Bolt, Glacier, and Samurai are missing."

"What of the Jewel?"

"It's still secure."

Kalinin nodded. Just who would have the balls to force their way into Avalon? And who knew about Avalon outside of Mithril agents? _'Hinata.'_

X X X X X

Despite the commotion around Okinawa, Keitaro found that slipping out of the Shrine had been relatively easy. With all the chaos caused by Amalgam's assault on the facility the five fighters had quickly and easily escaped. Yes, their new weapons helped as well, but they also made them stand out all the more.

Still, the authorities and anyone else looking for information about them would be looking for a group of four men and one girl, not one lone swordsman. Though he had quickly grown accustomed to using the mythical blade, he knew that it was easier for Ranma to hide the weapon away with his weapon-space technique. That and the fact that Ranma was supposed to unite the weapon with its other world counterpart, thus making the Kusanagi even more formidable. Not that the blade wasn't terrifying – the way it cut through the fortified steel of the Arm Slaves – why, cold butter put up more resistance against a hot knife. Even the Hina and Kien couldn't cut through steel like that. Still, if he had kept it he probably would have drawn more attention to himself. Considering that the military had increased the number of patrols, set up a mandatory curfew/lockdown, and was on the look out for any one wandering the streets, Keitaro knew that getting back to the Hinata Sou would not be easy.

'_Kei?'_ the marionette said, her childlike voice speaking directly to his mind. With Sagara gone the spell that he'd used to turn her into an actual girl had faded, leaving her once again as a Tsukumogami marionette without the use of her legs.

"Yes?" he whispered.

'_Where are we going?'_

"To the beach," he replied. "Someone from Mahora is going to meet us there."

Carrying the marionette on his back he was reminded of the fact that she wasn't human as her hard wooden legs hung limply against his side even as her hard arms wrapped themselves around his neck and shoulders. Though she was clearly trying to be as gentle as possible, it was clear that she was not used to being carried around like that. Still, Keitaro had to admit that she was deceptively light.

Waiting for the light of an overhead helicopter to move to the next street, Keitaro peeked around the corner. Seeing that no one was around he dashed to the other alley just as a light began to shine at the far end of the alley he'd been hiding in.

Running from shadow to long shadow in the middle of the night, he slowly made his way towards the nearly vacant beach. It didn't surprise him to find two figures standing in the darkness, waiting for his arrival.

"You must be Keitaro Urashima," the larger of the two figures said as Keitaro cautiously approached them. "I am Jurika Jinno," he offered a polite bow before turning to the second figure "and this is my partner Mana Tatsumiya."

The man was tall and lean, much like Eishin and Takahata, but appeared to be less muscular than the other magi from Mahora that Keitaro had met, possibly because he was less combat oriented than the others. The woman was a positively dark compared to the mage as her deeply tanned skin and astounding beauty made her stand out; a stark contrast to Jurika's ordinary and unremarkable features.

"Keitaro Urashima," he mumbled as he forced himself to look away from the woman and at the mage. "This is Moe – she can only use telepathy to speak to me and Ranma, but of course he's not here."

Jurika nodded, "A Tsukumogami – how interesting. But we must be off before the patrols return."

Keitaro nodded his agreement even as he heard the sound of a helicopter's blades in the distance. "Where are we going?"

The mage smiled coolly, "Why, Mahora of course."

# # # # #

"There's no way you're going to just send me home now," Kanako snapped as she glared at Granny Hina.

The other dimension jumping travelers knew better than to involve themselves with the women's argument, pulling themselves away from the conversation as they took inventory of their weapons as tried to plot their next course of action.

"Don't be such an obstinate little girl," Hinata chided. "You know as well as I do that you are not close to being in the same league as Ranma as a fighter and martial artist and even you admit that the other Keitaro is a better fighter than you are."

"I have to see this through grandmother," the lithe girl shouted, standing firm.

"The other you already died trying to help Ranma," the older woman stated, "I… How do you think this Keitaro and I would feel if you were to die as well? Why do you think that I insisted that this Mithril send Seta to assist Ranma – because I don't want you to die."

Though he desperately wanted to stay out of the conversation, he couldn't help but interject once he'd been mentioned. "So you want me to die?" he teased as he lit his cigarette.

The elderly woman turned and eyed her adopted daughter's former lover, "No, but you're trained to deal with this kind of stuff – Kanako's still wet behind the ears."

"Actually, we all are," Ranma said, injecting himself into the conversation. "I know that I'm the one who dragged everyone into this, but I know that if I was one of them, I'd want to see things through to the end as well. This is bigger than just me or any one of us now." He turned to look at the others. "Even the other Keitaro knows this, and even though I don't want either Keitaro to stick their necks out for me, I know that I can't do this alone. I know that there are plenty of fighters that might be willing to help, but not everyone can cross over like we" he gestured at the others "can. I used to think that I could handle any situation myself, but I've come to realized that even I need help."

It was odd for Ranma to say to much. As a man of action he wasn't used to trying to get his point across with anything other than his fists (and feet). Yet he knew that he needed to rely on words rather than his fists and actions – especially with his family involved.

Just a few short days ago he wouldn't have thought anything about the woman before him, but she was his grandmother. Though he knew so little about her he understood that she was trying to help all of her grandchildren and keep them all out of harms way.

"I'm sorry I got Kanako and Keitaro involved, but we need to find out why the other you chose the path that she's on," he said, breaking the awkward silence. "The decision that she made that differed from yours might be why we're all in this situation right now."

Hinata glanced at Ranma, then at her adopted granddaughter. "Promise me," she finally said, "promise me that you'll keep her, no, keep them safe, even from the other me."

"I swear," Ranma said as he knelt so that he could look her in the eye, "that I will do everything in my power to keep them all safe."

# # # # #

For the first time in a long time, Akane Tendo had decided to skip school. Though she had long established herself as one of the best martial artists at Furinkan, the past week had proven to her and everyone else that she clearly was a second tier martial artist. Only Nabiki knew of her loss to the Aoyama girl, but after her devastating and very public loss to both Motoko Aoyama and Ryoko Mitsurugi at the Kuno Invitational in the second and fourth rounds of the round robin stage of the tournament… well, she just couldn't face her friends and schoolmates.

It was humbling, worse than her inability to hit Ranma the first and only time that they had sparred.

Sitting by the canal, she spent the day watching the river as she tried to collect herself.

While no one blamed her for the poor showing of the Furinkan squad, she knew that she should have set a better example for the others. True, the team was usually led by Kuno, but in his (and Ranma's) absence they had turned to her – and she had failed them. But it wasn't that she had failed them – it was that she'd lost. Facing off against Motoko Aoyama at the tournament was supposed to be her chance to avenge her previous loss to the slender girl – but the humbling loss was hers, not Aoyama's. And then to lose to Ryoko Mitsurugi as well, a mere vice-captain of her school's team… Those two losses had kept her from advancing past the first stage. And now they were part of her record – a shame that she could never overcome….

"Akane?" Ryoga's soft voice called out to her. "You alright?"

The short haired girl simply shrugged.

Ryoga couldn't help but spend the past few days thinking. Though he'd been the least seriously injured of the 'rivals', he had still been forced to spend the entire weekend recovering from the humbling beating that Ranma had dished out to him (and the other rivals). That had given him time to think about, well, everything.

Yes, the beating had been humbling, but it had also been eye opening. Having fought, and lost, Ranma so many times, Ryoga had always thought that he was just one move away from winning, but losing like that had proven that Ranma really was just that much better. If Ranma were truly serious like he had been that day, than none of them had a chance in a serious fight. He, and the others, had taken Ranma for granted, overlooking the fact that the arrogant pigtailed boy often held back on his blows just to punish them further – just as Ranma had done against that figure-skater when he'd declared that just one punch wasn't enough. But in truth, one punch could have been enough had he wanted the fight to end with one blow.

Rubbing his still bruised throat, Ryoga shook his head. Ranma always gave them a chance to win as he held back on his blows, refusing to put them down with a single blow unless they conceded. But that day, that day Ranma had been serious. His blows had left the rivals seriously injured. That day Ranma wasn't holding back. Had that girl not intervened Ryoga was sure that Ranma wouldn't have stopped at just injuring the rivals.

"I heard about the tournament," he said. And he'd heard about the girl who had defeated Akane, the same girl that had kept Ranma from further injuring his primary rivals. "We all lose sometime – hell, even Ranma loses."

She couldn't help but smile, even if it was a weak smile, at the idea of Ranma losing. In the months that she'd known him she had seen him lose several times.

"The thing that makes Ranma so blasted annoying is that he never gives up," the bandana wearing martial artist stated. "Yeah, he gets beat every once in a while, but he always comes back to avenge those losses."

"Yeah," Akane shrugged, "I guess you're right."

"This looks familiar," a voice proclaimed, interrupting the pair as they tried to share a moment.

"You're really a moron Sousuke," a familiar voice added.

'_Ranma?'_

"This is where we appeared after we were ambushed the other night," Ranma stated as he lead the others.

Akane stood up, glancing at the odd quartet that was approaching her position.

"So if we jump here then we'll appear where Kurz was murdered?" the scarred boy asked grimly.

Both Akane and Ryoga froze. Though they both had seen Ranma fight before, they never once thought that anyone would die as a result of that fighting.

"Yeah," Ranma replied, oblivious to the pair ahead of them.

"Looks like we're not alone," Seta stated, nodding at the pair of youths standing beside the magical marker.

"Ryoga…" Ranma said as he faced his long-time rival, images of him trying to crush the other boy's throat flashing through his mind.

"Ranma," the bandana wearing boy returned.

"If you wanna fight for Akane's affection and love, you're gonna lose," the pigtailed boy declared. Walking calmly up to the one person whom he saw as friend and rival, he looked Ryoga in the eye. "You aren't gonna win Akane's heart by proving that you're the better fighter – you gotta prove that you're the better man. No, prove that you're the better man for her."

Despite herself, Akane couldn't help but blush. 'Ryoga likes me?'

Steeling his resolve, Ranma nodded then walked past Ryoga as his watch began to glow brightly in the fading light of the day.

Seeing the confused look on Ryoga's face, Seta walked by the bandana wearing boy. "What Ranma is saying is that girls might like to see guys fighting for them, but the real way to win a girl's heart isn't with your fists."

"So he's your rival?" Sagara asked the pigtailed boy as he walked past Seta and the other teens.

Ranma simply nodded.

"Why keep a rival around?" the scarred mercenary asked. "If it was me I'd have just put a gun to his head. In my line of work I can't afford to have rivals – it's best to simply kill them before they kill you."

Kanako simply buried her face in her palm. "Kami, you're such an idiot!"

Seta smirked. "You forget that he's from another world Kanako. Though our worlds might appear to be the similar they are both very different culturally and technologically."

A flash of blinding light silenced the discussion, or at least what Ryoga and Akane could hear as they both stared at the ground, unwilling to look at each other.

'_How dare he tell Akane how I feel about her! I'll prove to him that I am the better man!'_

'_Ryoga likes me? He likes me?'_

X X X X X

A/N

I think I'll end this snippet here.

Please go to my profile and vote on who you think would win in a fight – Maya Natsume vs Setsuna Sakurazaki.

Dreamingfox


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Notes –

Summer's here and I don't plan to be on the computer as much as I was last summer. Yes, expect delays between my updates. That's how it goes.

_Italics_ denotes thoughts, while _**bold italics**_ denotes speaking in Chinese.

X X X X X

The sound of the gently crashing waves of the ocean against the sandy beach cascaded up to the tiny villa. Despite the sun and the pleasant weather Kaname Chidori just couldn't relax. It didn't help that she'd been kidnapped four days ago and found herself on the island. True, she wasn't on an abandoned island, but she couldn't help but wish that she didn't share the island with the boy who had stolen her first kiss. It was clear to her that he wanted something from her - unfortunately he wasn't saying just what he wanted from her, but the possibilities frightened her despite her refusal to admit that she was actually afraid.

Watching as the two pilotless AS units accompanied Leonard in the distance, the teal haired girl couldn't help but wonder why Sousuke Sagara hadn't been around when she'd been kidnapped. Surely he hadn't been called away on a mission as she'd just seen him hours before the swarm Bonta-kun Arm Slaves surrounded her apartment complex – or had they just been waiting for him to be away so that they could kidnap her? And if that was the case, then why the hell hadn't Sagara come to rescue her yet? Had something happened during his last mission? What about Kurz and Melissa and Tessa? Wouldn't they have tried to let her know if something had happened to Sousuke?

A sickening feeling slowly grew in the pit of her stomach as fear and worry slowly set in. After four days of seeing no one but Leonard, Kaname Chidori was slowly starting to crack as the sun slowly disappeared behind the approaching storm clouds.

X X X X X

An unusual mist filled the bay despite the warmth of the season. Yet it was that same warmth of the air and the ocean water that allowed Kanako to create a concealing mist as the five travelers sought to avoid being detected by those they pursued.

"This is so stupid," Kanako grumbled as she concentrated on the Glacier Ring, creating more chilling ice for the quintet. "Who ever heard of mist or fog on the Indian Ocean?"

"More like 'who ever heard of icebergs in the Indian Ocean?'" Seta chuckled as he used his infinitely extending wrought iron staff to propel the icy raft.

"This is perfect weather," Ranma replied coolly. Ever since his final battle with Saffron he'd never given a thought towards heat or cold unless it was about using water to trigger his curse. "Besides, it's not as if anyone's going to notice us with this storm approaching."

"So how do you know we're going the right way?" the scarred soldier asked.

The raven haired boy shrugged, "I just got a feeling."

'_There were twelve of them,' _Hannya purred._ 'We draw closer to two of them.'_

'_How do we know it's the right two?' _the martial artist countered_. 'The last pair we ran into were Mithril agents._'

'_You've already met five of them,' _Kien interjected._ 'That leaves only seven more.'_

'_Yeah, and meeting four of those five means that we're giving the two we're looking for more time to run and hide,_' Ranma retorted.

'_We can only do so much, boy,' _the cursed blade snarled_. 'Which is more than you can do by yourself. There is a reason why you came to us and made the deal that you did.'_

"Why didn't Sousuke just conjure us a boat with his gun?" Kanako asked as she added more ice to their frozen raft. "Or make a magical dragon for us to ride?"

"He's still not that good at it," Keitaro answered. "Like me, he's from the technological world – magic is still very unbelievable to us despite what we've seen. The three of you at least came from a world where magic is much more prevalent and thus easily accepted – thus it's easier for you to connect to your artifacts."

"Plus a dragon probably would have been picked up on radar," Seta chimed in from the back.

"We're pretty close," the cursed martial artist stated. With the demon spirits' help he could tell that there were two definite signatures, and several dozen other presences – probably soldiers or civilians, but if it was who they were looking for than it was most-likely soldiers.

'_There are two Whispered on the island ahead,_' Moe stated.

Ranma nodded at Tsukumogami. "Moe says that she senses two Whispered ahead. I sense several dozen presences as well. We're getting pretty close."

# # # # #

A cool afternoon breeze somehow found its way to Damon High's crowded campus, caressing the sweat covered brow of one Ryoko Mitsurugi. Though she'd spent the previous weekend competing in the very exclusive Kuno Invitational against some of the top tier kendoka in the nation, she couldn't help but field a bit disappointed. True, the heir to the Kuno Zabatsu was had to miss the event due to serious training injury, the same event he'd won the previous two years and thus could not defend his title for the final year that he was eligible to compete in the tournament, but the fact that the Furankin team had all been eliminated by the second round showed just how poor of a team Furankin truly was. She'd gone into the event hoping to get a good match with any kendoka from Nerima hoping that they truly lived up to their reputation.

Alas, her match had proven that Nerima's fighters really weren't all that.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, the busty kendoka wondered what her erstwhile companion did to have so much energy. The energetic and bubbly girl was always smiling, something that always brightened Ryoko's day.

"I heard that you did very well in the exclusive tournament," the brown haired girl stated.

Ryoko simply smiled. Of course she did well; she was the rising star of her team and the leader of the girl's squad. Though she hadn't won the overall event, she had ranked second among all of the girls that had competed, losing only to her childhood friend Motoko Aoyama. Then again, she didn't come from a martial arts family like the slender kendoka did, so she wasn't expected to win the event. Still, losing was never fun. Though she'd only suffered two losses, both had been must wins. The first was to Motoko in the second round (the first elimination round) and then to Soichiro Arima in the third round (in the consolation or losers' bracket). Both loses had kept her from being ranked in the top twenty, though Motoko earned 11th place after losing in the third and fourth rounds while Soichiro Arima won the losers' bracket, thus earning him a spot in the fourth round, and won in three of his four remaining matches earning him 5th place.

The busty girl couldn't help but scowl as she recalled how she'd lost. True, tournament were different from real fighting as they favored more technical fighters by awarding points for hits, but it was said that those who had ranked in the top ten the previous year had each fought Tatewaki Kuno in a test of martial arts and lost. The idea of actually using her kendo skills in a fight was what both Motoko and Ryoko had desired, but their losses and the injury to Kuno had kept them both from testing themselves.

"Why are we headed into Nerima?" Hitomi asked as Ryoko stepped out of the train.

Blinking, the kendoka realized just where she was.

"I guess you must have been thinking about the tournament," the smaller girl stated.

# # # # #

"Stupid Keitaro," a busty, auburn haired girl mumbled as she exited the train. With everything that was going on at the Hinata Sou, the dorm manager had not been able to attend Cram School the past few days. It didn't help that there was a practice test coming up, but to the idiot manager family came first. Setting aside his studies, Keitaro focused on the magical portal to another parallel dimension that had somehow pulled in his perverted cursed cousin and adopted sister. As such, Naru was forced to ride the train alone.

Though she would vehemently deny that she actually enjoyed spending some time with Keitaro, deep inside of her was a spark of jealousy and rage/anger over the fact that Keitaro was missing Cram School. It didn't help that Ranma turned into a hot girl, or that Kanako could be considered as pretty in a goth-loli sort of way.

Lost in thought, Naru blinked as she tried to place herself, "This isn't Hinata."

Behind her the doors to the train closed.

Yet the station appeared fairly familiar, "Nerima."

The train sped off, leaving the cram school student stranded in Nerima.

# # # # #

Shampoo was not happy. Having rushed back to Nerima only to find out that Mousse was still in the hospital with broken ribs and a punctured lung as the result of a fight with Ranma, the violet haired girl wondered if the artifact she'd been sent to acquire was meant to deal with the sudden change in her Airen. But with the restaurant apparently closed with Mousse in the hospital and her honored grandmother missing, an exhausted Shampoo didn't know what to do.

"Must find Airen," the proud Amazon said aloud to herself. Steeling her resolve, she set off for Ranma's usual haunts.

X X X X X

"They're in the Indian Ocean," the helmsman stated as he put a map up on the main screen. The green blip that marked their agent clearly showed just how far he had managed to travel in a few days. "Do you want me to request to have one of the satellites repositioned so that we can get a visual on them?"

"No, just keep me appraised of their position," the silver-grey haired captain stated. "If they are on the trail, moving a satellite will simply tip our hands and endanger them."

"Aye Captain," the helmsman replied.

Tessa nodded as the officer turned back to monitor Sagara's position. With the chaos that had seemed to erupt in Tokyo the latest assault on the home of the Martial Arts Alliance had gone virtually unnoticed by most. But Mithril, even in its current decrepit state, noticed. Though they were powerless to do anything about it, Tessa knew that eventually they would have to inform Ranma or risk that someone from the MAA would inform him.

# # # # #

Though each of the residents in the Hinata Sou had their own thoughts and opinions as to why Kaolla Su was a resident at the Hinata Sou, none of them came close the truth. While the young, energetic princess did wish to let her cousin and sister resolve their feelings for each other while she was away, she knew that her presence in Japan was much more than to give her cousin and sister figure out their feelings. No, Japan held much more for Kaolla than time away from her family, it offered technology. Though she valued the magical, culture, and history of her native country, she knew that the world was slowly moving towards depending on the much more reliable technology instead of using magic and physical labor. Yes, technology was the future.

And Ranma had proven that point. His jaunt to a parallel dimension where technology ruled had shown her just how much humanity could advance. But it also proved just how much humanity was lost when society forgot about their roots. Without their culture and traditions to curb their darker urges, the world would turn out to be one like the one where Ranma was currently stuck in.

But the technology was truly fantastic. It was several decades beyond what was currently available in even industrial nations like Japan and the United States. It was almost like something out of an anime or manga that the Japanese so loved.

What had once been a cutting edge laboratory was now third rate as Su rushed to find or create circuit boards, chips, and other parts needed to make something that slightly resembled the blue prints that she'd acquired from the flash drive that the dimension jumping Sousuke Sagara had dropped. The information on the flash drive was serious stuff – reactive armor, electronic camouflage systems, next generation radar/sensor systems, electronic muscle packs and then there were the guns.

Though the scarred mercenary appeared to be just a meathead, he was clearly much smarter than he appeared. Aside from his intimate knowledge of guns and firearms, he knew a lot about Arm Slaves. The basic designs that he had downloaded from some Arm Slave magazine had been interesting, but it was his own designs for a miniature Arm Slave that proved he knew what the hell he was doing. True, the OS was flawed, but It was still at least five years ahead of anything mentioned in the magazines from his world and at least a generation ahead of anything that anyone in this world could come up with (aside from the mecha that were dreamed up in various anime, manga or sci-fi movies).

Looking up at her newest creation, she smirked. Now all she had to do was test it before Ranma returned.

X X X X X

"I had no idea that it was this bad beyond the fog," Kanako grumbled as she gave up on creating and maintaining the mist.

"So this is why you had us overshoot the island," Seta added as he let the fierce winds propel the icy raft.

Ranma simply scowled as he endured the cold rain. The sudden storm and the stiff winds had made it harder for Kanako to maintain the thick mist/fog around them, but it also provided them with the cover they needed. Unfortunately between the rain and crashing waves even the combined efforts of his cursed armor and swords, Ranma couldn't maintain his true form as he was repeatedly splashed by the cold salty waves or hard rain drops.

'_It's so strange controlling a female's body,'_ the Hina blade teased.

'_I've never possessed a woman's body before either,'_ Hannya added. _'Their bodies are so… squishy and soft.'_

Ranma scowled. Though the cursed armor had shifted to fit his cursed body, it had done so reluctantly.

'_I always knew that they were soft…'_

'_Shut up!'_ Ranma thought. A slight snickering from the cursed weapons filled his mind. Turning his attention to his physical companions, Ranma glanced first at Moe, the Tsukumogami marionette that could also communicate with the cursed/magical weapons as she instructed Sousuke Sagara, the scarred Mithril agent from this world, in how to use the witch-gun. Unlike the cursed armor and swords that he wielded, the others could not communicate with their weapons because their weapons merely had a psychic imprint from their previous owners/wielders where as his actually contained sentient demonic spirits. But at least the others didn't have to worry about their weapons trying to take over their bodies.

But looking at the others, Ranma hoped that they mastered at least the basics of their weapons by the time they reached the island. True, Seta appeared to have the basics of his weapon down pat, but all it really did was extend to varying lengths. The Kusanagi was also very straight-forward in that it could cut through any physical material such as the armor of an AS or titanium doors but combined with Keitaro's Urashima Fist style it made the Todai student much more formidable, but as good and as quick a learner as Keitaro was, he was still unaccustomed to using a sword while fighting. That just left Kanako with the Glacier Ring that allowed her to freeze virtually anything and Sousuke with the unpredictable but powerful witch-gun. Though they had bested a squadron of AS and their supporting units, the group was far from experienced with their new weapons.

Yes, they were formidable, but they were far from peek form.

# # # # #

"Hmmm…" Naru exclaimed as she savored the last tasty bite of okonomiyaki. Though the young chef was no older than she was it was clear that she knew what she was doing. "That was great!"

"Thanks," the owner and chef replied.

The auburn haired girl leaned back, glad to still be wearing her drab attire as she allowed herself to act a bit more slovenly than she normally did. "I'm glad I stopped in here instead of the Chinese shop."

With little action in Nerima the past few days due to the recent injuries to Tatewaki Kuno, Mousse, and Ryoga, as well as Ranma's recent disappearance – probably to avenge his rivals or to prepare for the new threat if this new challenger hadn't already gotten to him first, the residents of Nerima were restless. With the Cat Café closed those hoping to catch any possible action had headed to Ukyo's as that was the most-likely place (aside from the high school) for a fight to break out.

Busy with her other patrons, Ukyo Kuonji absently noticed the money that the girl with the coke bottle glasses set on the counter. Though it was the tail end of the dinner rush, there was still a solid crowd in the shop and seats at the counter were a premium. As Naru stood up two girls rushed to claim her nearly vacant seat. Though a tall girl claimed the seat, she did so at the cost of her drink as the other girl knocked it out of her hand and onto the exiting Naru.

Slightly frustrated, Naru glanced around for the bathroom. Slipping inside she quickly wiped off the access liquid. After a half minute of trying to save her outfit the auburn haired girl decided to change into her regular outfit instead. Just as she was starting to button up her blouse the door to the stall opened, revealing a very effeminate waiter.

"Pervert!"

Acting on instinct, Naru finished buttoning up even as she charged at the cross-dressing waiter/waitress. Her frustration over Keitaro's disappearance and being forced to go to cram school by herself as well as her ruined outfit needed an outlet.

Unfortunately that outlet was not willing to simply take a punch as years of kunoichi training taught Konatsu to evade such a clumsy attack. Leaping back, the gender-confused ninja deftly avoided the powerful haymaker and the spinning kick that followed.

With each missed blow Naru simply became angrier, ignoring the fact that the waiter/waitress had slipped out of the bathroom and into the restaurant. So used to attacking and not being attacked, Naru failed to notice the giant metal spatula that slammed into her shoulder.

"No one attacks Konatsu!" Ukyo shouted as she felt her battle spatula connect with the auburn haired girl. With Naru still attached to the spatula, the chef turned.

As veterans of the many Neriman battles, the spectators simply moved out of the way of the fight, some scrambling to gather their food as Ukyo slammed the girl into the ground.

Surprised, Naru simply blinked as her mind processed what was going on. Standing up she glared at the owner. "So this is the type of establishment you run – you let guys peep on the girls in the bathroom!"

The other female patrons looked at each other then at Konatsu. "But Konatsu's actually thinks he's a girl."

Blinded by her pent up rage, Naru simply charged at her attacker.

A veteran of several fights with the feisty Akane and relentless Shampoo, Ukyo simply parried with the haft of her battle spatula before countering with an elbow to the mysterious girl's stomach. A back hand to the girl's face stood the girl up and set her up for another shot from the battle spatula, this time to her ribs. Again the veteran watchers scrambled out of the way as Ukyo threw the auburn haired stranger out of the restaurant and sent the girl skidding into the street.

"Man - that was quick."

"At least we saw some action."

X X X X X

Hinata Urashima was not happy. Five days ago Leonard Testarossa had lead a revolt against Amalgam, taking much of their third generation Arm Slaves as well as all of the prototype miniature and unmanned Arm Slaves and their armaments. It was four days ago that her hand picked squad had failed to infiltrate Avalon to acquire the 'magical' items that she had once captured for Mithril. Between the loss of her units during the uprising and in the raid on Mithril's facility the former Mithril agent was not happy.

'If they were going to die it would have been better for them to die by my hands,' she though as she looked over the latest reports. "Has Mithril been able to put together any plan of attack?"

"No ma'am," the petty officer replied. "They are concentrating their efforts on trying to establish contact with the other theaters, but it appears that the Indian Ocean fleet is completely shut down. There's chatter from the Pacific fleet and Atlantic fleet but that's it."

Looking over the map, Hinata scowled. "What forces do we have in the Indian Ocean?"

"Currently none," the officer replied. "They were wiped out in the uprising."

The old mercenary nodded. "I want eyes on the Indian Ocean and two squads on standby."

# # # # #

"So who's Ranma Saotome?" Hitomi asked as she walked beside Ryoko.

The tall kendoka simply shrugged. "I'm not too sure myself, but I think Motoko knows him. We just ran into him over the weekend when we went to walk around Nerima." Recalling the look in her old friend's eyes when the boy had surprised them, the busty kendoka knew that there was something between them, but what?

Having told the smaller girl about her time in Nerima for the Kuno invitational (yet having not covered any of the actual matches), Ryoko couldn't help but think of the odd martial artist. Knowing Motoko as she did, there was no way that the slender kendoka would fall for someone who wasn't a martial artist. But clearly he wasn't a kendoka himself as he wasn't at the tournament, so who was he? Thinking back, she couldn't even recall any defining features about the guy. "All I know is this Ranma Saotome"

"You say Ranma?" violet haired girl interjected as she run towards the pair from Damon High. "You see Ranma-Airen?"

Instinctively Ryoko moved so that she was standing between this strange girl and Hitomi. "No," she replied as the girl stopped mere centimeters away from her.

"Where is Ranma-Airen?" the violet haired girl demanded.

"Look, I don't know any Ranma Airen," Ryoko replied.

"You just say Airen's name," the clearly frustrated girl said, her thick Chinese accent much more noticeable now.

"I think she might be Chinese," Hitomi stated as she peaked out from around the taller girl. "Maybe she does know this Ranma guy. I mean, that name really isn't that common."

Shampoo reacted to her airen's name, turning her attention to the smaller girl. "Where is Airen?" she demanded.

"Look," Ryoko said as she once again moved so that she was directly between her friend and this strange girl, "we already said that we don't know this Airen guy."

"You no lie to Shampoo!"

Ryoko instinctively reached for her bokken as the purple haired girl pulled out her twin bonboris.

"Obstacles is for killing!" Shampoo declared as she advanced on the two girls.

Instinctively Ryoko pushed Hitomi out of the way even as she leapt out from underneath the powerful overhead strike. Seeing the concrete street shatter under the other girl's weapon, Ryoko knew that she didn't have the power to even block any of those blows.

"Run," she ordered Hitomi as she eyed the violent violet haired girl. Adopting a standard kendo stance, she waited as the other girl launched herself into the air, gaining even more power for her attacks as she closed the distance. At the last moment she stepped under the crossing attacks, landing three quick blows to the other girl's stomach and ribs.

Dramatically, Ryoko sheathed her bokken.

"Kendo-girl is quick," Shampoo stated as she stood up, "but not strong."

Turning around Ryoko stared wide eyed as the powerful Chinese girl stood up.

All around them passers by stood still as they watched the developing fight.

"Who's the new girl?"

"I don't know but it's been a while since we saw a good girl fight."

"You've got to stop them!" Hitomi urged as she approached a group of students.

"No way!" an athletic boy replied.

"No one tries to stop one of Shampoo's fights," another boy explained.

"This new girl's good," the third boy stated. "She got a good shot on Shampoo."

"That's only going to make her madder."

"Yeah, if you can't put Shampoo down in one shot you're kinda screwed."

Again Shampoo charged, this time leading with a powerful shoulder to hip attack with her left that lead into thrust with her right.

Ryoko didn't fall for the feint as she took a step back to avoid the attacks.

"Man, even Kuno knows better than to just rely on kendo against the others," someone grumbled.

The busty kendoka scowled. So this was what Kuno faced regularly. Clearly straight kendo would not prevail against such a powerful opponent. She'd need to think outside of kendo if she wanted to win.

Ducking under another series of attacks she rolled past her opponent's guard, landing a swift blow to her opponent's knee that threw the other girl off balance.

Standing up Shampoo tentatively shook her leg. Once she was sure that she could stand on it she charged again.

This time Ryoko was in a high stance, holding the bokken over her head. Trusting in her speed and greater range, the busty kendoka stepped into the Amazon's backhanded left as she brought her weapon down. Though her fearless opponent barely moved her head out of the way, the star of Damon High's kendo squad connected with a solid blow to the girl's shoulder. Though she'd stepped into the other girl's guard and avoided the head of the bonbari, a glancing blow to her ample bosom and ribs with the shaft of the weapon forced the kendoka to abort the follow through of her attack.

Breaking apart, it was clear to the spectators that both girls had been injured in that exchange as Shampoo's left arm lung limply despite the fact that she still clung to her bonbari and the busty stranger was clutching her left side.

"Damn, that girl's hot!"

"Do you think Shampoo would give this girl the Kiss of Death too?"

"If she knows what's good for her the new girl should just throw the fight."

"What's the 'Kiss of Death'?" Hitomi asked - her attempts at trying to get someone to stop the fight long forgotten.

"Well, Shampoo's a Chinese Amazon," the boy explained. "She's came to Nerima chasing after Ranma Saotome because he'd beaten her in a fight. Amazons are very proud and they don't take losing very well. So when an Amazon loses to a woman she gives her the Kiss of Death – a vow to hunt down the person who defeated her until one of them is dead. If it's a guy they chase after him until he comes back to the village as her husband."

"I'd never run from Shampoo if she wanted me," the boy's companion muttered.

"Dude," the first boy said, shaking his head as Shampoo launched another attack, "you wouldn't survive an hour alone with her."

Hitomi watched in horror as Ryoko parried a fierce thrust then evaded a right thrust before slipping behind the Amazon and connecting with a series of quick hits to the other girl's legs that nearly brought her to her knees as each blow connected on her already injured right leg. Not willing to give up her advantage, the busty kendoka landed several more blows to her opponent's exposed backside and leg, each hit tearing through the other girl's dress.

Completing the spin, Shampoo brought up her left and threw the weapon in her hand at her opponent, forcing the kendoka to break off her attack. Unwilling to let Ryoko get away, Shampoo followed after her, taking a blow to her injured arm even as she kicked her discarded bonbari at the taller girl. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of the other girl's blouse and pulled hard, driving her head into the taller girl's jaw.

Both girls fell to the ground with Shampoo raising her bonbari up high.

"That's enough!" a stern, menacing voice called out. "The girl's defeated."

"Honored Grandmother!"

"I had not realized you were back yet," the shriveled ghoul stated as she hopped over to her granddaughter.

Standing up, Shampoo tried to not limp on her injured leg.

"Who's that?" Hitomi asked as she fought the urge to run to her friend's aid.

"That's Cologne," the boy behind her answered. "She's Shampoo's grandmother"

"Great-grandmother," another boy corrected.

"And she's an elder of their tribe."

Suddenly the old woman turned to the young girl. "You're not from Nerima," she stated. She glanced at the boys behind Hitomi. "You three, take her and her friend to Dr. Tofu's."

The boys nodded, rushing to help the defeated kendoka and her friend to the unorthodox doctor's clinic.

Finally the old ghoul turned to her descendent, _**"It is fortunate that this girl lacks the power of Akane Tendo or else she would have defeated you. Her technique and form are solid, and she is much faster than you, though she is also less experienced and powerful as you. If I did not have more pressing matters I would teach you the Breaking Point."**_

X X X X X

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Notes –

There's a new poll on my profile page, please vote.

That said, I'm really enjoying writing this fic. Yes, I haven't updated it as much as I have in the past or in comparison to some of my other fics, but I really have been putting a lot of myself into updating this fic and the others. Still, it is the summer, and lots of things are going on so I won't be able to update as regularly as I once did. I do encourage you all to go out and enjoy the weather if it's nice out wherever you are.

That said, I just started watching the Witchblade anime, and I have no idea what's up with those guys who turn into… well, whatever they turn into. Aside from the look of the Witchblade from the comics, I don't see any resemblance between the series. At least it's not like the manga Witchblade…

I have seen the Guyver, and wish that it would resolve. I also recall seeing the original series of the Guyver and the American movies with Mark Hammel… it does make me wonder if I should start reading the manga. I might just do that since Full Metal Alchemist is over, but I do spend too much time online in the first place, so maybe not.

Oh, and in regards to the polls and this fic, well, not all of the characters in the polls are in this fic, but do keep an eye out for them. I'll try to do some justice to the fighters.

No, I am not going to do a cross-over with Gundam Wing. At least not this fic.

X X X X X

"Generator 7 is down!" the petty officer announced as another lightning strike took out the power supply for the security systems. "Switching to back up generator 2."

Leonard scowled. At least Mithril hadn't shown any indication that they were in the Indian Ocean, else he might have been concerned. Yet something about the strikes concerned him. "Bring up a map of the facility."

Another petty officer brought up a map of the island.

"Which generators are down?"

"Generator 7 and 8," the first petty officer replied.

The silver-grey haired youth scowled. Though it could be coincidence, the fact that the two generators were relatively close on the southeast side of the island concerned him. "What does Generator 8 power?"

"The factory."

"Another strike on Generator 2!"

Unable to shake the strange feeling in his gut, the young commander nodded. "Have all forces on standby – I want to be ready for anything that happens," he ordered. "I'll be with our guest in the Villa, if anyone does show up let me know and I'll greet them personally."

X X X X X

Sousuke Sagara couldn't help but be amazed by the Witch-gun in his hands. Though it looked, well, odd, it was proving to be much more than he had expected. Not only could the gun essentially shoot through anything, the magical bullets could allow him to do virtually anything.

Shooting a piercing round into one of the miniature and unmanned AS units, he found that he could control it. True, it wasn't like he was actually piloting it, just giving it orders. With his growing reserves of magic or mana as Ranma/Moe had explained to him, his powers would grow, allowing him more control over a greater area – but for now he was content to simply give orders to four of the experimental units.

X X X X X

"Sir!" the petty officer exclaimed as he shouted into the microphone. "We have reports from unit 729 that three of the prototype miniature AS units have gone rogue… correction, four of the units have gone rogue."

Leonard scowled. Though they were not his prized creations, the mass produced mini-Belial types were sturdy and should have been protected from any EMP strikes as well as simple lightning bolts. No, something was clearly wrong.

"It's Sagara," the teal haired beauty stated as she read the look of concern on the boy's face. "He's finally come for me. If he's here than the rest of Mithril is here too."

"Perhaps you're right," he said, standing tall.

"Ranma," a voice interjected.

Both teens looked at each other.

"If Ranma is here, than I may not need you after all," Leonard sighed. Reaching out, he pressed his hand against the book shelf, triggering the fake wall to open.

An eerie teal green glow filled the hidden chamber. "I guess it's time for me to introduce you to your host."

Stepping into the concealed room, he didn't bother waiting for Kaname to follow.

The sight of the platinum haired girl floating in some sort of bluish-green gel seemed to shock Kaname as she gazed at the lone occupant of the room.

"Sophia is perhaps the most powerful of the Whispered," Leonard stated. "Unfortunately her body was nearly destroyed when the machine that created all of the Whispered was destroyed. That's why I brought you here – to be her new host."

"Resonance," the teal haired girl muttered.

"Yes," the silver-grey haired boy smirked. "You were to resonate with her so that she could enter your body, but she wants this Ranma Saotome." Turning around he smiled at the woman inside the tank. "So, who is this Ranma Saotome?"

Suddenly a picture on the wall slide into the wall, revealing a hidden monitor that came to life. Five figures could be seen despite the fierce winds and rain. Slowly the screen focused on a petit redhead wearing antiquated samurai armor and wielding two katanas.

"Sir, we're under attack!" a voice reported from the com-system.

Leonard shook his head. "Employ plan Delta-Lambda," he ordered.

"Yes sir."

"I thought Ranma Saotome was a guy," Kaname said as she recalled the name. Blinking, she suddenly recognized some of the figures. _'Ranko? Keitaro and Kanako? What are they doing here?'_

"I did too," Leonard shrugged, "when I first met the male Ranma Saotome, he somehow managed to produce Lambda energy and fought back my Arm Slave. With only a sword in hand he forced me to retreat. I wonder if Genma really did kidnap more kids than we all gave him credit for."

Again Kaname blinked. "Genma Saotome? The rogue martial artist and assassin?"

"My, you do know your history," Leonard smirked. "But we must call an end to this conversation," he stated as he pointed at her.

A sudden stabbing pain lanced up Kaname's leg, forcing her to look at the wires that were now protruding out of her leg. Realization dawned on her just as a current of electrical energy shorted out her nervous system. Unable to control her own muscles she fell into Leonard's arms.

"I really did want you to be Sophia's host," Leonard said as he lifted her into his arms. Walking over to the desk, he set her down.

Unable to control her body as every muscle spasmed, she could only watch in horror as he lowered his face to hers, stealing yet another kiss from her. "But at least Ranma Saotome is a girl – a rather cute girl too."

X X X X X

"We're being watched," Ranma announced as he cut down another soldier.

Sagara nodded, "Probably – it looks like there's a lot of surveillance cameras around the place." Drawing an intricate circle into the sand, he stepped on it even as he took aim at the miniature AS. With two of the first four units that he had controlled destroyed, he was forced to take control of another one to help even the odds.

"Fine," Ranma grumbled. "End the rain and give us some cover. That should free up more of your magic for taking over those AS units."

Sagara blinked. _'Why didn't I think of that?'_

Drawing another spell into the wet sand, he stepped on the magic circle before leveling the gun at the angry sky. Suddenly the rain and howling winds stopped only to be replaced by the warm sun.

Dashing out from behind a wall, Ranma cut down two soldiers before ducking behind a wall. Stabbing Kien through the wall he felt the cursed blade cut into one of the soldiers on the other side, allowing the blade to drain the unfortunate soldier's soul out of his dying form. Not waiting for the dying soldier's companions to react, the cursed martial artist kicked the wall, blowing a hole through it and startling the unnerved soldiers. A quick slash with the Hina Blade beheaded three more soldiers while a swift diagonal slash cut through another soldier's shoulder, rifle, ammo belt, and chest. The spray of hot blood filled the air, giving Ranma the cover he needed to jump behind the wall as bullets reigned down on his position.

But that also gave away the position of the next squad of six as Sousuke loaded ammo into his Witch-gun. Not even bothering to aim, he simply pointed the powerful gun at the balcony before unloading three powerful blasts that blew the balcony off the face of the building. "I never thought a gun this small would be as powerful as the shotgun that I use when I'm piloting Al," he commented as he reloaded the gun.

Kanako furiously reshaped the wall of ice that she and Seta hid behind. Expertly she shifted and grew the ice wall so that it protected them from the hail of bullets and rocket propelled grenades that came their way.

Unexpectedly a black pole shot out, crashing into the balcony where another squad of six defenders resided as they peppered the mysterious assailants. The crumbling stone and wood structure quickly gave way, spilling out the startled soldiers. As the men braced themselves with trying to land on the stone below they were mercilessly cut down by Keitaro as he leapt into the air to intercept them. Expertly he somehow managed to grab one of the rifles out of the air even as he kicked the ammo belt of another towards Sagara. Landing, he ducked behind a tree even as the sturdy plant came under fire.

Rushing to aid his companion, Ranma cut down the few dozen bullets headed his way as he navigated the destroyed terrain. Leaping over a carefully manicured shrub he planted his foot on the face of a miniature AS, smashing the machine's sensor and CPU before launching himself towards the squad that had pinned down Keitaro.

Stabbing the back of the squad leader, Ranma flicked his wrist, eviscerating the man with Kien even as he beheaded another with Hina.

With the end of his weapon imbedded in the building, Seta retracted the staff, allowing it to carry him over the fighting in the courtyard and towards the building. Reaching the second floor room the experienced adventurer secured the room, making sure that there were no more soldiers occupying the area. A hail of bullets greeted him as he peeked his head into the hallway. With no other options, Seta leapt back down to the ground level.

"Kanako, the water!" Ranma ordered as inspiration hit him. Grabbing the gardening hose, he sprayed it up into the destroyed balcony that Seta had just vacated. Swiftly he turned the hose on the other troops rushing the yard, coating the bricked walkway with more water.

Nodding, the gothic girl concentrated on her ring. The others quickly jumped for cover as she unleashed a terrible, frozen breeze. With much of the ground still wet from the recent magically enhanced storm, there was water virtually everywhere – all of which froze as the Glacier Ring robbed them of any heat. Soldiers rushed through the water and wet sand found their feet frozen in solid ice. Miniature AS units were doused with the water, covering their shiny, water-proof exteriors. Crushing ice soon coated the metal behemoths, hampering their mobility even as it turned their armor brittle.

As if on cue, Seta raised his mighty staff, extending it into the air above and letting the head drop onto the frozen surface. The thick ice shattered on impact, as did at least a meter of the frozen ground/sand and every soldier and Arm Slave caught up in the freezing spell blast.

Ranma blinked as he watched in morbid fascination as the death toll jumped up inexplicitly. The soldiers hadn't just been trapped in the ice, they'd been frozen themselves and the impact of Seta's staff shattered their bodies.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Sagara stated as he eyed the destruction before him. "It looks like we won't have any problem getting inside the villa now."

X X X X X

A sudden chill ran up the teal haired girl's spine as she watched the almost casual destruction that Sagara's companions wrecked on Leonard's rogue Amalgam forces. In one fell swoop the four fighters had taken out virtually all of the defenders on the southeast approach to the villa.

"Issue the order to retreat," Leonard grimaced as he tallied the losses – 36 loyal soldiers and twelve mass produced miniature AS units against four attackers. Those were not good odds. No, those were not good odds at all. Still, he had a final trump card to play.

Kaname would have smiled if she could, though her muscles continued to contract and spasm as she lay on the table. Still, the gruesome display was frightening. She'd previously delighted in the knowledge that Sagara would go to the ends of the Earth for her, but to see him employ such cold-hearted tactics just to retrieve her was another thing altogether. And there was Ranko and Kanako, both of whom had been so, well, normal the other day when she'd met them – well, normal compared to Sagara.

"Initiate Alpha protocol," Leonard stated as he clicked away at his terminal.

"Initiating Alpha protocol," the AI that ran the villa replied. "Ten minutes until Alpha protocol complete."

Leonard nodded. Taking a deep, calming breath he turned back to the monitor, watching as the odd group approached the villa cautiously. "Soon," he finally said, "you'll have your new body Sophia."

Turning to his monitor, he sighed. "Lock down the villa and get Belial ready."

X X X X X

"Ma'am," the helmsman shouted, "we have activity."

The diminutive figure nodded, "Show me."

"On the main screen," the soldier stated as he brought up a visual. "Our satellites picked up this storm in the Indian Ocean. Then suddenly it dispersed, revealing this."

Hinata nodded.

"Arm Slaves, but what happened to them?"

"Can you get a better visual on those figures?" the former Mithril agent asked as she eyed her second in command.

"Yes ma'am," the helmsman reported. "I can actually show you footage from the island. I've managed to hack into the AI server that Leonard has set up for the island."

A second monitor on the side came to life, showing a close up of the four travelers.

"Seta!" the second exclaimed.

"Keitaro, Kanako," the old woman grumbled as she recognized her adopted grand-daughter and grandson. Glancing at her adopted daughter and biological granddaughter, the commander clenched her fists. "Have the Eligor and my Codarl prepped. Also have all mobile forces ready to be deployed."

X X X X X

"It feels like a trap," Sagara stated as he walked behind Ranma.

As much as he hated to admit it, Ranma couldn't help but agree with the scarred mercenary. Something was screaming 'Danger!' deep inside of him and even the cursed weapons and armor were silent inside his head. Yes, something just felt very wrong. For the past ten minutes they entire group had seen nothing but the occasional fleeing soldier in the distance. No grenades, bullets, or anything had greeted them since they'd entered the building.

It was just too quiet.

X X X X X

The first stirrings of power jolted the Tsukumogami, startling her even as she watched the assault on the villa. Without working legs the self-aware marionette could do nothing but watch. Even if she had a voice she was well outside of Ranma and Keitaro's range as neither would be able to hear her voice over the gunfire and neither was close enough to pick up on her psychic pleas.

Looking up at her metallic companion, she held out her arms, _'Take me to Ranma.'_

The altered and enchanted miniature Arm Slave turned its camera onto her. Slowly it lowered itself, before taking her into its massive arms.

X X X X X

"Amalgam launch detected," the AI announced.

"I plan to be long gone before they get here," Leonard smirked as he watched the monitor. "Neither of us will be here when they get here."

X X X X X

The sound of voices carried through the nearly vacant villa. While most would have approached cautiously, Ranma simply did what he was used to and rushed down the corridor towards the odd, blue-green light.

Only Sagara's training kept him from calling out to the reckless redhead as the martial artist advanced at nearly impossible speeds. Suddenly the corridor came to an abrupt halt, at least for him and the others as a half meter of transparent plate glass fell into place, barring their path and separating them from the cursed martial artist.

So caught up in the chase was he that Ranma failed to consider the fact that he was now isolated.

"Shit!" Keitaro shouted as he approached the glass.

"Stand back!" Sousuke cautioned as he loaded his weapon.

X X X X X

Heedless of the situation that he found himself in, Ranma advanced into the strange room. A quick glance told him that Kaname was alive, though currently useless as she appeared to have been disabled by something. Seeing her athletic body twitching as muscles convulsed and contracted he was briefly reminded of Motoko at the hands of Tatewaki Kuno.

"You must be Ranma Saotome," the silver-grey haired boy said as he looked up at Ranma. "I must say, I was thinking that I'd have to deal with some muscle-headed martial artist. When I saw that crazy fighter challenge me in the Eligor and create a Lambda Driver energy I knew that Sophia had picked a suitable host, but"

"You're that guy in the AS!" Ranma exclaimed. "The jerk who tried to kidnap Tsuruko and attacked the Martial Arts Alliance."

Leonard glared at the busty girl.

"Man, even in a full sized AS you lost to me."

"I never lose."

"Yeah, tell that to everyone who's watching me stop your AS with my bare hands on Youtube."

The silver-grey haired boy scowled.

"Since you're the only thing standing between me taking Kaname back, well, this'll be quick."

"Oh, you can take Kaname," Leonard smirked. "But Sophia and I are leaving here first."

Ranma rushed the boy even as the Whispered boy slammed his hand onto the control panel.

A sudden wave of nausea knocked the martial artist to the ground.

X X X X X

Sagara shook his head, trying to will the ringing in his ears out as he did so. Stepping through the ruined glass wall, he lead the others down the corridor. After a few steps he could make out the distinct form of Kaname Chidori as she lay on an examination table. Spurred on by the sight of the helpless girl, he ran into the room.

"What the hell happened?" Keitaro asked as he followed Sagara into the room.

"Kaname! What happened to you?" the scarred soldier asked as left the others to scan for threats. Setting down the Witch-gun he helped the teal haired girl sit up.

"T-taser," she mumbled as she felt the Mithril agent wrap his strong arms around her.

"Where's Ranma?" Kanako asked as she spotted his discarded armor and weapons.

Seta eyed the weapons, "He wouldn't have gone after Leonard without his weapons."

X X X X X

The feel of immense cold enveloping him was the first sensation he recognized as he slowly regained consciousness. 'What happened?' Though his eyes were too heavy to open, he could tell that only his eyes, mouth, and nose weren't enveloped by the cold. 'My arms – why can't I move them? My legs too!'

Try as he might, Ranma couldn't move a muscle. 'It feels like I'm swimming in syrup or something.'

Slowly, he forced his eyes to open, only to have his vision filled with blue-green light.

'No, not light,' he thought, 'more like a filter.'

Forcing his eyes to focus on what was before him, Ranma could make out several distinct shapes and figures.

"Kanako! Keitaro!" he tried to shout only to find that his mouth was not responsive. "What's going on?"

X X X X X

"Who is that?" Sagara asked as he helped the still recovering Kaname to her feet. "What did Leonard do to you?"

"I-I don't know," the girl replied.

Suddenly the four fighters turned around, each gripping their weapon while Sagara stood between the AS and Kaname.

"Moe?" Keitaro said as he lowered his weapon. "What are you doing here?"

'_Ranma,'_ the marionette replied. _'He's in trouble.'_

Kaname blinked. Had she just heard someone's voice inside her head?

"She says Ranma's in trouble," the Todai student asked.

"Where is Ranma?" Seta asked.

Moe pointed behind them, _'He's in there.'_

Kanako approached the strange tank and the girl inside it, "Behind this?"

Moe shook her head, _'He's inside her.'_

Keitaro blinked. He couldn't have heard her right.

'_That is Ranma,'_ the marionette repeated.

"That's Ranma?" Kaname repeated. She didn't know why, but she found herself walking towards the girl in the tank. "Resonance."

"What's going on?" Kanako asked as she rushed towards the other girl.

"Tessa told me that resonance allows two Whispered to share their thoughts and memories," the teal haired girl stated. "She never told me that it could be used to trade bodies."

X X X X X

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	20. Chapter 20

Author's Notes –

Yeah, there's a new poll on my profile. Not much else to say.

'_Italics_' is thought or conversations that are happening non-verbally. '**Bold**' will indicate when they are speaking in English, and '_**Bold Italics**_' indicates speaking in Chinese. All other languages will be indicated when used.

X X X X X

"I can't believe that's Ranko," the teal haired girl exclaimed as she watched Keitaro pull the girl out of the strange tank.

"Actually, that's Ranma," Keitaro corrected as he helped his dimension jumping cousin adjust to her new body.

"I know," Kaname exclaimed as she looked at the frail girl.

A sudden buzzing from Sagara's pocket kept the scarred boy from joining in on the conversation. Reflexively he reached for his phone. "This is Sagara," he said as he flipped open his cell phone. Nodding, he glanced out the window. "I understand."

Everyone looked at the scarred soldier.

"We've got company," he stated. "The Indian Ocean Fleet detected our fight, and they also detected an entire battalion of Amalgam forces that are on their way here right now."

"They can get an entire battalion here?" Seta exclaimed, clearly impressed by the proclamation.

"This world is more technologically advanced," Kanako replied.

"How many soldiers are in a battalion?" Kaname asked.

"Usually between 300 to 1300 men," Sagara stated. "Judging from how quick they've mobilized I would assume that they have deployed several divisions – probably one AS division with at least two divisions of air support. I would think they've sent probably 200 units though."

"Why?" Keitaro asked.

"The Pacific Fleet could only field 100 soldiers at a time," Sagara explained, "and we could only deploy so many AS units or tanks given their size."

Seta nodded.

'_Give Ranma the swords,'_ Moe suggested as she clung to the still enchanted Arm Slave. As commanded, the metal construct followed the marionette's orders.

"What are you doing?" Kanako asked as she watched the machine reach for the discarded weapons.

"She wants Ranma to have his, er, her, weapons," Keitaro explained.

'Kei,' Moe said as she turned towards the Todai student, 'tell Sagara to use the healing bullet.'

"Sagara, use the healing bullet," he ordered.

The scarred mercenary blinked, "Affirmative." Grabbing hold of the Witch-gun he emptied the chambers.

"Healing bullet?" the teal haired girl asked.

"Yeah, magic and all," Kanako replied.

"Magic?"

"Long story," Seta interjected. "First we have to get ready for whatever Amalgam is going to send against us."

Kaname watched as her appointed guardian from Mithril drew out a magic circle on the floor then stepped on it. An odd energy seemed to emanate from the ground where he had stepped, sending a tingling sensation through her body as she watched.

Taking aim, Sagara shot the frail girl. A golden glow surrounded the frail girl as the atrophied muscles on the sickly girl strengthened.

"I put enough magic into that shot to last an hour," Sagara stated.

The busty girl simply blinked in astonishment. "Wh-what did you just do?"

"We'll explain later," Seta reiterated. "What's their ETA?"

"Three minutes," Sousuke replied.

"Can you re-animate the Arm Slaves?" Kanako asked.

"They're in too many pieces," the soldier answered as he shook his head.

'_You need to make it rain again,'_ Moe suggested.

"Moe says you need to make it rain again," Keitaro said.

"Wait, why are you paraphrasing what she just said?" Kaname shouted.

Everyone looked at the busty girl.

"You can hear her too?" the wispy girl that was Ranma spoke up.

'_She is a Whispered,'_ Moe stated, _'of course she can hear me. She does not need to have a special bond with me like Keitaro does to speak with me.'_

"Are you alright?" the lithe girl asked as she turned to her 'cousin'.

"This body is so weak," the cursed martial artist grumbled. "Even with the enhancements it's not even close to being a fourth of what my cursed form is."

"Kinda full of yourself, aren't you?" Keitaro teased as he helped Ranma over to his discarded weapons. "What happened?"

"Tell ya later," the bald girl said as she allowed Keitaro to help her.

'_It seems you are in a predicament,'_ Hannya mused as the sickly girl reached out for the cursed armor. _'Our agreement still stands, regardless of the loss of your true body.'_

Slipping the armor over her nearly skeletal frame, Ranma couldn't help but feel a bit eager for the next confrontation. Forced to endure this weaker body, he knew that he'd have to accept the energy that the Hannya and Kien stole from his victim to supplement his once considerable ki reserves. The thought of having to rely on the demonic weapons turned his stomach, then again, this sickly body probably couldn't stomach much anyways.

'_At least we still have plenty of energy from your previous victims,' _Hina said soothingly_. 'But now that Sophia knows that we are your allies she will start to take us into account.'_

Ranma nodded as he allowed Hannya to adjust to his current body. A sudden rush of burning power coursed through every fiber of his new body. Grasping hold of Kien and then Hina, Ranma felt a similar influx of energy.

Kaname gasped as she looked at frail boy trapped in a girl's body.

"Um," Kanako said as she followed the teal haired girl's eyes, "your eyes are glowing."

"Demonic energy," Ranma said as he stood up and flexed his new body's arms, getting a feel for the new power as well as his new limbs. Even with the enforcements and the power being supplied to him, the martial artist knew that he was well short of the full potential of his true body in either form.

"Three minutes," Sagara stated as he completed a magic circle. Stepping on it he focused as he aimed the gun out of the large window then fired. The others watched as the once sunny sky became dark and cloudy. "That took everything I had."

"At least you still can fire off those cannon like blasts," Seta stated as he tossed a pack of bullets at the mercenary. "We've still got plenty of ammo, three rifles, and six shot guns, not to mention the weapons that we the Arm Slaves had – anti-tank weapons with armor piercing rounds. Unfortunately no one's strong enough to use the guns."

Ranma scowled. Things definitely weren't looking good for them. "Kanako, remember what we did in the court yard?"

The lithe girl nodded.

"Save your energy and wait for my signal," he ordered. "Keitaro, find whatever you can to use as cover. We're going to need everything we can get our hands on. Seta, see if you can find us an alternate way off the island – I'm sure that Leonard had some escape pods or boats for his men and that's going to be our way off this rock."

X X X X X

"One minute!" Colonel Urashima announced. All around her the men and women under her command acknowledged their commander.

"Are you ready?" Brigadier General Urashima asked, her wrinkled face appearing on the screen before the Colonel.

"Yes ma'am."

"This time, bring him back alive," the older Urashima ordered. "I want to know how he survived."

Haruka nodded. "Yes ma'am."

X X X X X

For the longest time, Kaname had considered herself to be rational person. And then she met Sousuke Sagara and her world had started being turned on upside down. First it were all the various antics that the military otaku pulled with his guns in and around school, then there was her subsequent abduction by Guron, a member of Amalgam, and the rescue by Sousuke and the discovery that she was being protected by an international para-military outfit. It didn't help that Mithril had counterpart in Amalgam and that they were working just as hard as Mithril was to disrupt the already fragile world peace or that Amaglam (and its agents) appeared to be intent on ruining all of her precious high school memories.

As a rational person she could accept that Amalgam wanted her because she was a Whispered, even though she was still coming to terms with what a Whispered was. Given the abilities of the Whispered to decipher information that normal people didn't know, possession of a Whispered could throw off the balance of power between industrial nations.

Yes, that was all rational and easily acceptable.

But shooting a strange gun into the air to create rain was, well, unbelievable. Not to mention the little ring that could create freezing blasts of air that made Absolute Zero believable. But there was no way that the tiny ring could store that much liquid nitrogen or anything cold enough to instantly freeze a single human much less several hundred at once, not to mention what it did to the Arm Slaves.

Still, there was only so much that the handful of defenders could do with their 'magical' weapons.

"It looks like they've withdrawn," Sagara announced as he peered through the binoculars at the currently stalled enemy forces.

"Well, it looks like we know the range of your weapon," Keitaro shrugged as he glanced at Kanako.

"Kami – these boobs are so flat!" Ranma exclaimed as he lay on the ground and put his eye up to the scope of the rifle.

The two true females of the group looked at the gender-confusing martial artist.

"I've found us a way out," the cursed fighter stated as he eyed the frozen troops. "We surrender."

The others looked at the scrawny girl with disbelief.

"Trust me," the martial artist stated. "I've got a plan."

X X X X X

"They've got some sort of freeze ray," the first lieutenant reported. "The first infantry company was completely frozen by it."

'_Damn, I had no idea that Mithril had developed something like this,'_ Haruka thought as she listened to the first reports of the assault. "Have the artillery units set up at 150 meters – we'll just force them out of the villa."

"Ma'am," a second lieutenant interjected, "six figures have emerged from the villa and are waving a white flag."

"They're surrendering?" Haruka asked skeptically. "Have them turn over all their weapons."

"Yes ma'am."

X X X X X

'_I can't believe you're actually surrendering,'_ Hannya grumbled.

'_That's so ingenius,'_ Hina interjected.

'_Though I would have preferred to retain my usual appearance rather than this… this is…'_

'_Humbling?'_ Hina again interjected as the demonic blade noted the slight distain that the demonic armor had for its current appearance.

'_I can't protect you from a blade much less a mosquito,'_ Hannya lamented. Rather than appearing as form fitting samurai armor, Ranma had managed to convince the demonic spirit to appear less menacing. Rather than completely giving in to what the cursed martial artist wanted, Hannya had decided to go with a simple, unflattering bikini.

'_You know they're going to search you,'_ the black blade stated. _'But it is creative.'_

'_I can't believe how flat my chest is,' _Ranma lamented_. 'And my hips are so narrow – they don't give me much power for my kicks or punches. I thought the muscles on this body were bad, but the shape of the hips, shoulders, and pretty much all of my spine are horrible.'_

'_You're sure that they won't be able to detect the weapons?'_ Keitaro asked, trying to change the subject.

Looking at his cousin, Ranma shrugged. _'I can manage the hidden weapons technique,' he thought, 'and it'll be easier than cutting our way through all one thousand of them. Even in my real body I would be hard pressed to get us all out of this alive, but this way we only have to deal with the, um, general or whatever.'_

'_Colonel at the least,'_ Keitaro sent back.

'_General, colonel, what's the difference?'_

Keitaro would have sighed had he not been wiry of drawing attention to himself. With his psychic connection to his cousin through Moe, at least he was able to hear some of what was going through Ranma's head, though that was a bit more than he really wanted to know at times.

'_This is insane,'_ Kaname interjected. _'If Sousuke's capable of pulling off magic why the hell didn't you have him create some clothes for me? But no, now I've got to endure all those soldiers leering at me in this barely there bikini.'_

'_Hey, you didn't want him to shoot you,'_ Ranma replied. _'He can't just create things out of nothing, he's got to shoot something, just like he did when he shot himself to merge the witch-gun with him.'_

The teal haired girl scowled. This was not how she envisioned her rescue.

X X X X X

"Where are the prisoners?" the busty woman demanded.

Immediately the two guardsmen snapped to attention as the dark brown haired colonel approached the brig. "Inside," the senior guardsmen replied. "We've kept each of them in separate cells."

"They had no weapons on them?"

"None ma'am," the guardsman replied. "One of the girls, a Kanako Urashima, had a ring and earrings. Another girl, a Kaname Chidori, had a pair of earrings that were determined to be flash grenades and a bracelet with a broken tracer inside, we confiscated those and destroyed them. Aside from watches and cell phones none of the men had anything of interest, of course we confiscated those items just to be safe."

'_What's Kanako doing here?'_ Haruka nodded. "I'd like to see them right now."

The four guardsmen nodded, breaking off their salute before the senior guardsman moved to unlock the door.

Stepping through the portal, the brunette woman eyed the two rows of cells. To her right were the three men and to her left the three girls, though the first cell on each side was empty.

Turning to her left she eyed the first girl, a sickly looking brunette, probably of Russian or Eastern European descent. It was clear that the girl was physically weak, though she did radiate an aura of confidence and malice. Still, just seeing the Colonel had caused the girl to recoil. Clearly she wasn't as confident as she had tried to be. Then again, with that frail body it was much easier to put on airs than to back it up.

Opposite of the sickly girl was the scarred Mithril agent – Sousuke Sagara. Though he simply glared at her, Haruka couldn't help but wonder what the others had done to convince him to surrender. From all the intel that they'd gathered on him (most of it from Gauron), the colonel had expected him to go out with guns blazing rather than surrender willingly.

The second girl was familiar, if only because of the files that the now deceased rogue Gauron had on her. Kaname Chidori, the teal haired Whispered that had fascinated so many within both Amalgam and Mithril. Had she perhaps been the designer of the prototype freeze ray/gun that Leonard's now abandoned villa had used on her troops?

"Haruka?" the man behind her gasped as he looked at her.

Though she tried to ignore him, Haruka immediately recognized the dark haired man. Though he wore simple jeans and a tight shirt, it was clear that he really was the man she once knew. Yes, he had aged, but it had nine years since she'd apparently failed to kill him.

Walking past the second set of prisoners the brunette turned on the third female prisoner.

"Haruka?" the girl gasped. Having heard her companion call out the woman's name, the lithe girl immediately rushed to the front of the cell. "Auntie Haruka?"

SMACK!

"Don't call me 'Aunt'!" the colonel ordered as she slammed a rider's crop against the front of the girl's cell, the end of the crop connecting with a glancing blow to the girl's pristine skin of her face, knocking her back.

"Haruka! Kanako!" the young man opposite of the lithe girl shouted.

Immediately Haruka turned around, 'No, it can't be… Keitaro!' Facing her cousin/nephew, the colonel froze. "What the hell are you doing here Keitaro?"

"Wh-what do you mean what am I doing here?" the young Todai student shouted. "What are you doing alive? I thought you died nine years ago!"

"Obviously I didn't – so why the hell are you here? Is the Martial Arts Alliance working with Mithril now?"

"I see," Sagara stated from the back of his cell, "your adopted mother, Hinata Urashima, must have had Amalgam forces bomb the hospital to kill Seta."

The displaced Mithril agent blinked.

"What?" the Urashima siblings exclaimed.

"Almost years ago a hospital in Tokyo was bombed," the Mithril agent stated. "That same day a Mithril agent, Noriyasu Seta, was at the same hospital to visit his newly born daughter, Sarah McDougal. Listed among the dead was Urashima Haruka, who was also there to visit her friend and the mother of Seta's child."

"You're wrong," the calm brunette stated, silencing the prisoners. "Clearly I didn't die, nor did Seta, though how you survived I don't know. I was sure you'd died" she glared at Seta "after all, I was the one who shot you before strapping the bomb to your body."

Despite his best efforts to stand, Seta crumpled to the floor in disbelief.

"This world is really fucked up," the sickly girl in the first cell muttered. "Everything's so perverse and twisted."

"Because you're family," Haruka stated as she glance first at Keitaro then at Haruka, "you'll be spared. Unfortunately I can't say the same about the others. Of course we'll keep the Whispered girl – we really do want that freeze ray weapon that killed my soldiers. I'm sure you'll enjoy being part of our think tank."

Ranma nodded at Sagara.

Focusing, the Mithril agent extracted the Witch-gun from his forearm even as Ranma pulled the Kien and Hina out of stuff-space.

Expertly the gunman drew a magic circle on the floor before stepping on it. Raising the magical gun he shot Ranma in the head, infusing the cursed martial artist with power.

The sound of the powerful gun filled the brig, alerting the guardsmen and the colonel. Spinning around, Haruka saw the door open and the first guardsmen enter the brig just as Ranma cleaved through the steel bars of his cell. A second swing decapitated the first guardsmen. Instinctively Haruka pulled her gun even as the sickly girl leapt out of her cell. Raising her gun she instinctively brought it up even as she jumped back to avoid the black iron rod that came flying out of her former lover's cell.

Suddenly the world went cold as she collided with an icy wall. No, it wasn't that she had collided with a wall of ice, more that she was now encased in it. Trapped as she was, Haruka had a clear view of the deaths of the remaining three guardsmen as Ranma cleanly and almost effortlessly killed each of them.

And with each death more power coursed through his borrowed body. With the magic from the bullet and from his now dead victims, Ranma was radiating power. Effortlessly he cut down the doors to the other cells, before finally turning his sights on his twisted aunt/cousin.

"I should kill you," Ranma stated, "for all the crimes you've committed, but that's not my decision to make."

"Leave her," Seta stated as he gazed at the woman. There was so much more he wanted to say, but he couldn't trust himself to say it right, not right now at least.

"I'm going to come after you!" Haruka proclaimed. "I'll chase you down wherever you go and kill you! And you" she glared at Keitaro and Kanako "I'll hunt you two down as well. Blood or not, you've clearly sided with him, so that makes you my enemies as well! Granny and I are going to come after you all!"

Swinging around, Seta slammed the butt of his enchanted staff against the brunette's head, knocking her out. "Just because I'm letting you live for now doesn't mean I'm going to endure your screaming."

Ranma nodded grimly as he cleaned his cursed blades. "Let's go."

X X X X X

Hinata Urashima was not happy. Watching the security footage of the escaped prisoners as they cut a bloody swath through her granddaughter/adopted daughter's elite soldiers was unsettling. The fact that her grandson and adopted granddaughter were part of those forces made her feel even worse. But it was the weapons that they were using that really twisted her stomach into knots.

"Damn them!" she cursed. "Mithril's given them the same magical weapons that I acquired for them."

Haruka raised her brow.

"That girl," the older Urashima pointed to the frail looking girl as she cut down two soldiers, "she's using the cursed armor Hannya and the cursed sword Kien. They allow the user to absorb the souls of their victims and uses that power to strengthen the user – it's the only way such a weakling could take out so many soldiers - in the hands of a truly powerful fighter that armor and sword would make them virtually unstoppable. See how she effortlessly cuts down bullets and even cuts down several men at once, even through their guns? That's the power of the armor and sword."

"What about the other sword?" the younger Urashima asked. "It almost looks like she's using the same sword as you."

"That's impossible," Hinata grumbled. "The Hina Blade is unique, as are all of the weapons that they're using. They must be the same ones who intercepted our raiding party in Okinawa. See, that's the staff that the Monkey King used when he escorted the monk to India."

"You mean the Monkey King? As in the character from _Journey to the West_?"

Hinata nodded as she watched Seta extend his staff so that it knocked out the supports to a walkway overhead, spilling the soldiers onto the ground so that the armored girl could finish them off.

"And that?" Haruka asked as she pointed to a screenshot of the Mithril agent and the unusual gun the used.

"That is the Witch-gun," the older woman replied. "It allows the user to shoot magical bullets, but I never did find any. Still, just shooting regular bullets it is a formidable weapon."

Finally the older woman turned her attention to her grandchildren as their images appeared on several screens. "Keitaro has become an accomplished fighter, but he still doesn't know how to incorporate a sword into the Urashima Fist Style. Still, with the Kusanagi in his hands he should be able to cut through anything." As if to prove her point, one of the images was of the young Urashima Heir cutting through a meter of reinforced steel.

"Kanako must have the Glacier Ring," the woman stated. "They must have used that on your soldiers on the island. See how she points her hand at the wall and suddenly it freezes and become brittle enough for them to break through solid steel?"

"So what do we do?" Haruka asked. As one of the younger generation she was one of the few who actually believed that magic existed. Still, actually seeing it in action was much different than just believing that it did exist.

"We continue to follow them," Hinata stated. "They're hunting for Leonard as well, so we might as well pit them up against each other and weaken each other before we come in and finish them all off. Contact all our sleeper agents in Japan and have them keep an eye out for my grandchildren and their companions."

X X X X X

A/N

Hmmm… I think I'll leave things as they stand.

Please Read and Review.

Oh, and there's a new poll on my profile. Please check it out.

Dreamingfox


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Notes –

Hmm…. Not much to say really. There's a new poll on my profile page… that's about it.

# # # # #

The giant skyscrapers of Tokyo slowly gave way to smaller, shorter buildings that slowly gave the traveler a better view of the sky overhead. Nerima, though still a part of Tokyo, was a distinctly different part of the large city. Still, her wanderings through the ward had led her to discover the source of the strange energy signals that Claire had detected.

The busty purple haired woman had never seen such a city before. True, she'd seen many larger and more impressive cities, but none like Tokyo with its towering skyscrapers and masses of so similarly appearing people. Then again, the people of this world had yet to travel beyond their moon, and appeared to be content with exploring their own solar system still, thus limiting their perspective and knowledge of the galaxy and the other races beyond this star system.

As the only 'humanoid' member of the flight team sent to observe this undeveloped planet she'd been chosen to be sent to the planet's surface to further investigate the strange energy signals that had originated in the section of the world known as "Japan".

"It seems that that strange symbol is the origin of the strange energies," her commander stated, his rumbling voice hitting the higher frequencies of her communicator. "Claire, please zoom in on it."

The tiny figure on the young woman's shoulder turned then focused on the symbol. As one of the many AI holograms assigned to the crew, Claire had been assigned specifically to assist her in her surface travels as the rest of the crew remained on the orbiting ship.

"Scan with for all frequencies and known energy signatures," Hatsuho ordered, making sure that none of the 'humans' around her could hear. Though she had rushed to learn "Japanese" the interstellar traveler knew that she still did not have full command of the language. The fact that she had dark purple hair and green eyes were as the majority of the populace had either dark brown or black hair and brown eyes instantly made her stand out. Still, it wasn't unusual as she had spotted a young woman with light purple hair the other day.

"Odd," the voice of the science officer proclaimed. "I've never seen anything like this before," he stated. "But judging from the energy fluctuations it's clear that the energy is reaching its full capacity. Those symbols are merely batteries for something, but when it reaches full capacity it starts to lose power even though the energy hasn't been used. It's almost as if it's waiting for something to happen or for a catalyst so that the energy can be consumed.

"It's very similar to the energies we were studying over the red planet, though the closest things are the energies that we found in the region of 'Japan' known as Kyoto or in the north in 'England'."

"Is this going to happen every time?" Hatsuho asked. "You've told us the same thing each time I found one of these symbols."

"Just find the last symbol and record it," her commander ordered gruffly. "If we don't get something more than just a small energy signal you can return to base. We'll simply send a report to command and request that they send a full science team to investigate."

X X X X X

Ranma was not happy. Not only had he lost his wonderful body, he'd been stuck inside of a significantly inferior one as a result of his trip to the Indian Ocean to find Kaname Chidori. True, they had found the teal haired Whispered and had returned her to Japan, but the cost of the endeavor was much more than what Ranma was willing to pay.

The news he received upon his return though made everything even worse.

"What do you mean they've been kidnapped?" the wisp of a girl shouted with all her might. Even the angry shout was weak and pathetic.

"While you were gone your father snuck into the compound," the proud swordswoman replied.

Looking at the various injuries that still lingered on the woman's face and arms it was hard for Ranma to be upset with Tsuruko considering that her sister was one of the girls abducted by his father.

"It appears that he discovered a secret path into the Hinata Sou," the injured swordswoman stated.

Keitaro blinked. "He came out of the lower levels."

"Yes," the shrew master eyed the Urashima heir.

"So my old man took Motoko, Ryoko, and Ukyo," Ranma grumbled.

Tsuruko simply nodded.

"We have yet to discover a way after Genma," the ancient master interjected. "He collapsed the passage"

"Using the sealed techniques," the frail girl finished.

Happosai nodded. "Even I was surprised by Genma's ingenious styles. He's had a week to prepare for you – your original body. In the body you have now there's no way you could defeat him."

"So what do we do?" Tsuruko asked.

"I go back," the sickly girl replied. "Well, we'll see if I can go back first."

"But" the swordswoman exclaimed.

"We'll explore the technological aspect of what happened to Ranma," Happosai said, cutting off the other master. "Sousuke will take Ms. Chidori back to Mithril and they'll see if they can find out about this 'Resonance' and how they were able to take Ranma's body. Back in his native world Ranma will consult with the magi there to see if there's anything he can do to get his body back."

"If I can go back," Ranma muttered darkly.

X X X X X

"Sir," the young woman exclaimed as she eyed the image of her commander, "I must protest – I'm an officer of the law, not a scientist or researcher!"

"I realize that," the dark haired humanoid figure replied, "but you're the only one on in the region. We've dispatched a science team to investigate, but they won't get there for another cycle. If the readings are accurate then another phenomenon should occur soon in the region of the planet that you are currently in."

"But what about abduction case I'm on?" the athletic woman with two toned hair interjected.

"It's possible that this strange phenomenon is related to that case – our readings indicate that such a phenomenon is well beyond the technology that that back-world planet is currently capable of – it's beyond anything that anyone in the Federation is capable of."

"But the rogues and non-Federation scientists might be involved?"

"Birdy, we know that rogue elements of the Santovasku were involved in the assault on the Alpha Cygni Royal Transport, and everyone knows that they practice what most scientists consider 'mysticism' or 'magic' and this reading is very similar to what the Santovasku delve into to bypass some of our most advanced technology."

Birdy shook her head. Though she'd been on this planet for over two weeks and had managed to kill one of the criminals who was involved in the attack on the Alpha Cygni ship, her leads had dried up. "Fine, I'll check it out," she ceded. It was a lead, though she couldn't help but feel a bit put off by the request.

The bald alien nodded. "Good, due to the nature of things I've been able to requisition some special equipment for you."

X X X X X

Years of training had provided Ranma with an exceptional awareness of what was around him. Though he could fall sound asleep his highly trained body and subconscious mind always moved to avoid any physical threats. It was something that Ranma realized he'd taken for granted. Then again, in this significantly weaker body Ranma knew that many of the things he'd become used to in his original body were virtually impossible in his current one. Like standing up to pee… Hell, if this body could stand up for more than a few minutes at a time he'd be impressed, then again, this body didn't need to stand up to pee.

'_No,'_ he chastised himself, _'I need to focus. I need to find out what's escaping my attention.'_

Yes, he was nervous, but he couldn't blame it all on the fact that he wasn't sure if the portals would still work for him in his current body.

Looking around Motoko's empty room, he glanced at Tsuruko and Happosai. Neither of the master martial artists seemed to notice the other presence. But maybe it was just a figment of his imagination, something he'd come up with subconsciously to distract himself from his concern about returning home.

"It looks like it's time," Seta stated as he helped Ranma walk towards the glowing symbol.

"Yeah," Ranma grumbled. "Let's go."

Turning around, he gave the elegant swordswoman a final look. "I promise, I'll come back and we'll find Genma and your sister."

The kendoka nodded. "I know you will."

# # # # #

"Where are they?" Keitaro grumbled as he paced outside of Motoko's room. Glancing up at the special clock that Su had built; the dorm manager couldn't help but gravitate towards the kendoka's room whenever the face started to glow.

"Don't you have a practice exam to prepare for?" Naru interjected as she approached the distracted young man.

"Just taking a break," the ronin replied.

Over the past week the pair had resumed their usual studies, though around this time of day Keitaro was usually found right here waiting for some sign of his adopted sister and cousin's return. And if Keitaro was here than one or more of the girls wasn't far behind.

"There you are, Keitaro," the slender kendoka grumbled. "Could you pick up some more rice the next time you're in town?"

"Sure," the usually absent minded manager replied. "I keep forgetting that we've got company."

With Nodoka, Tsuruko, Eishin and the other magi from Mahora investigating the magical rune in Motoko's old room, the Hinata Sou was seeing significantly more traffic than usual. Ever the gracious host, Keitaro couldn't help but insist that the others join them for their meals, even if he hadn't budgeted for them when planning the meals for the week.

But at least the Nerima crew had returned to Nerima. Happosai had proven to be more of a distraction, and regardless of what the ancient Amazon Cologne brought to the table, the presence of the ever aggressive and easily agitated Shampoo didn't help – especially considering that the younger Amazon had recently defeated Motoko's childhood friend.

Though Su's special watch had recently been glowing orange, the sudden shift to green caught the trio's attention as a matching glowing light illuminated Motoko's former room.

Taking a tentative step forward, Keitaro fought the urge to slide the door open.

"I guess you can still jump," a deep, strong voice proclaimed.

"Yeah," an unfamiliar female voice replied.

Reaching out, Keitaro opened the door, sliding the thin barrier to the side. "Kanako, Seta," he exclaimed even as his eyes locked on the sickly girl between them.

"Who's that?" Motoko asked, voicing the thoughts of her companions.

"It's a long story," the frail girl mumbled. "But it's me, Ranma."

# # # # #

"There's a huge spike in energy!" the stony faced science officer shouted, his voice booming in the receiver in her ear. "This is just as big as the reading we picked up over 8 cycles ago."

"They're called 'days' here," the explorer grumbled as she ran.

Claire simply pointed at the long flight of stairs that lead up the side of the hill towards an unknown building.

"Switching to full cloak," she stated as Claire began to warp the light molecules around her, removing any visual trace of her being there.

"Good idea," her commander said. "That's some quick thinking Kazami."

"Thank you sir," she mumbled as she raced up the stairs. _'It'd be so much easier if I had brought the flight suit too. Still, this planet's gravity is nothing compared to home, but it is a switch from being in artificial gravity to a planet's real gravity.'_

Reaching the top of the stairs she took a deep breath even as she eyed the building before her. "Scan for life-signs," she ordered Claire.

"Life signs detected," the holograph chirped in the ear piece. "I've acquired a map of the building as well."

"Good," she huffed.

"Three, no, four individuals appear to have been tainted with the unknown energy signals," the science officer reported. "The ship wouldn't have picked anything like this up, but with Claire there we were able to do a scan all the humans there – the four that are tainted just arrived."

"Teleportation technology?" the commander offered.

"I'm not sure," the scientist replied. "But looking at our scans of the other markers, I doubt it. If it is teleportation technology it's not like anything I've seen before."

"And you've clearly seen a lot," Hatsuho sniped as she checked the display that showed Claire's findings.

"This is nothing like anything that is legal in the Federation if it is teleportation technology," the science officer replied. "Samantha's completing a tally of global scans and it doesn't appear as if anyone anywhere on that planet teleported. It's as if those three signatures just appeared."

"I thought the inhabitants hadn't traveled past their moon," the commander interjected.

"They haven't," the young explorer stated. "I've checked all their history texts and nothing indicates that they've done anything beyond shooting satellites into 'space' since they've apparently abandoned their moon."

"Find that last symbol," the commander ordered. "We'll scan the planet again but in the meantime I want you to get me a better scan of those three travelers."

Taking a deep breath, the purple haired woman nodded, rushing into the building. She could tell that there was some sort of commotion going on, though none of it seemed to be directed at her direction.

"They're back," a tanned young girl proclaimed.

"Yay!" a young blond girl exclaimed. "Papa's back!"

The two girls immediately turned and ran up the hallway towards another set of stairs, ignoring the adults that chased after them.

"Stop!" a blond male shouted. "There isn't enough room for everyone to fit upstairs. They're coming down here and we'll meet in the lounge."

Immediately the adults in the corridor turned around, dashing back towards the lounge.

"They're coming down," Claire stated, affirming what the blond man had stated.

Finding a secluded corner of the lounge to stand in, Hatsuho watched as perhaps a dozen or so adults and several younger figures entered the room.

"Where's Ranma?" one of the younger females asked as several figures seated themselves towards the front of the room. The blunette appeared to be fairly young, though the explorer couldn't tell just how old she was.

"Papa!" the young blond shouted as she leapt at the scruffy haired man wearing a tattered white coat.

"Sarah!" he smiled as he hugged the young girl.

"He's one of the three," Claire stated as she scanned the man, the strange energy still emanating from the man.

Hatsuho nodded.

"The girl, the lithe one in black and the other girl, the sickly one," the AI pointed out, "they also are tainted by that energy."

"Interesting," the science officer exclaimed.

"Record everything they say," the commander ordered.

Hatsuho simply nodded as all eyes turned to the sickly girl.

X X X X X

"I picked up those unusual readings again," the muscular woman muttered as she eyed her companion. "But it just ended."

"A beacon?" the mechanoid asked.

"I've never seen anything like this before, that's for sure," the horned woman replied. Though it was fairly easy for her to pass as one of the 'natives' of the world, the horned 'alien' was assigned to repair their damaged ship rather. As the only Santovasku in the team, she was the only one who could pilot or repair the organic ship that they used. Then again, as the only Santovasku she was the only one who could detect the magical energies without any special equipment.

"What about the Fed?" the artificial being asked.

The woman shrugged. "We've lost her for now."

"Good," the android replied. "We need to focus on repairing the cruiser. Let Liza and the others find the Princess and deal with the Fed."

# # # # #

"So, that's about everything," Ranma stated as he looked out at the gathered crowd. Having spent the past two hour explaining the events of the past week or so had exhausted his frail body. If not for Kanako and Seta, the cursed martial artist was sure that he wouldn't have completed it as he could not go more than a few minutes without breaking into a coughing fit.

Even in this new body, some of the instincts that had been engrained into his psyche remained. The persistent feeling of being watched told him that they weren't alone. Still, without his actual body he couldn't actually find the intruder, though he did have an idea of where they were.

"It seems that I was right to send my great-granddaughter to acquire this then," Cologne stated as she hopped onto the table and nodded at the violet haired girl.

Urged on by her honored elder, Shampoo stood up, withdrawing a cloth wrapped bundle which she set on the table.

"This is an ancient artifact," the ancient Amazon stated as she actually stood on the table and used the end of her cane to prod the bundle. "Though we are not sure what this artifact does exactly, we do know that it is tied to the Frozen Flame."

Happosai and the others glanced at the crystalline blade that shone with an inner fire. Immediately the room went cold as the enchanted cloth no longer covered the magical blade, allowing it to siphon the heat from everything around it.

'_There is a way for you to regain your original body,'_ Moe nodded as she looked at the weapon.

"But I have to merge it with the other one," the displaced boy grumbled. "How do we find it in the other world?"

"It is an artifact that should be under the protection of the Phoenix Tribe," Cologne stated. "You are fortunate that they are in disarray and that my great-granddaughter is familiar with their mountain. If they still exist in the other world then they would possess it."

Ranma eyed the old ghoul, fully expecting her to name the price for the crystalline blade.

"Normally I would have provided this item in exchange for something," the Amazon elder stated, "but it seems that it is too late. Returning you to your own body is in the best interests of my great-grand daughter and the Amazons. Your death by the hands of another would simply mean that she has not fulfilled her vow or of acquiring your seed for the future of our people."

The cursed martial artist nodded. "So"

"It was Hikaru Gosunkugi," Eishin stated, cutting Ranma off before he even had the chance to start speaking and then coughing. "We interrogated your rivals, and each of them indicated that this other boy had contacted them and asked them to destroy the doorways."

The scruffy blond mage nodded. "We found him pretty easily and acquired the Frozen Flame as well."

Ranma couldn't help but glance at the founder of his school. Though the old man had carelessly tossed the artifact aside not really knowing what it was capable of, the idea that he could have done the same to Ranma didn't escape his mind. Still, the old man was trying to help.

Forcing his frail body to stand up, Ranma grabbed first the Frozen Flame then the Demon's Tear. The moment he touched the crystalline blade the temperature in the room began to warm, returning to the way it was before the blade had been uncovered.

Infused with the ambient magical energy from the Frozen Flame and Demon Tears, Ranma now saw the hidden observer. Glancing at the special clock, he grimaced. "Three hours until I go back," he grumbled, forcing his still weak body to stand. Despite the infusion of magical energy that allowed him to sense and see the hidden stranger, Ranma knew that his current body would not benefit from the infusion of energy.

'_You see her too,'_ Moe stated as the Tsukumogami turned to face Ranma.

'_Yeah,'_ he replied.

'_Who?'_ Keitaro interjected.

'_In the corner, behind the palm tree,'_ Ranma indicated. _'Don't look, just extend your senses.'_

'_Ah, I'm not a martial artist like you,'_ the runty ronin replied having giving up quickly.

Ranma shook his head. _'I can't believe how different you are from the other you – that Keitaro is a Todai student and a master martial artist. He's dedicated to those around him, not just to some idea or distant promise!'_

Keitaro pulled back in his seat as his cousin glared at him.

'_Grow a fucking spine!' _the cursed boy sent his cousin._ 'You could be so much more if you weren't so damned wish-washy! Just grow a pair and stop over-thinking things!'_

Forcing himself to walk, Ranma urged his body on. "I'm going back to Nerima," he stated.

"Wait!" several voices called out.

Turning his head, Ranma glanced back towards the assembled crowd.

"Son-in-law," Cologne shouted as she hopped onto her cane.

"Ranma," Happosai muttered as he slammed the hot stone in his pipe against Ranma's spine.

"Ah!" the cursed martial artist shouted as a burning pain ran through his body.

"That is the Ultimate Strength Moxibustion," Happosai stated. "It wouldn't have helped your other body as Cologne already used it to neutralize the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion, but in your current body it'll make you stronger."

Ranma blinked. He could feel the power coursing through his body as his chi network increased its efficacy, allowing his sickly body to handle greater strains and demands. True, it wasn't as strong or fast as his old body, but it was at least 75% of what his original body could do. Armed with Hannya, Kien and Hina he was at least a match for his old body and Sophia.

Opening his mouth, Ranma found himself choking on the rare words of gratitude for the grandmaster. Fortunately he was saved from that endeavor as the ancient Amazon splashed him with cold water. "What was that for?"

"You were on fire," Cologne stated.

Ranma tried to look over his shoulder, the smell of burnt cotton and flesh from the hot stone and pipe that Happosai had used on him still stinging his back.

"Ranma!"

The martial artist deftly dodged the energetic blonde's attack. Smirking he looked down at Su.

"I created these," the foreign princess smirked as she pointed at Kanako and Seta.

Only the keen eyes of the experienced martial artist managed to spot the slight bulges beneath both of his companions' clothes.

"I got an idea from the muscle packs that the Arm Slaves use to move them," Su grinned. "It beats hydraulics any day!"

Ranma glanced at the others, still not sure what the girl was talking about. The moment's hesitation was enough for Su and Sarah to strip what little clothes that the boy trapped in a sickly girl's body as the pair shredded the burnt and tattered remains of his clothing before deftly replacing it with the silvery metal bikini-thingy that he now wore.

"That bio-exo-suit will increase your strength by a magnitude!" Su proclaimed.

"We tested it on Keitaro and Motoko," Sarah proclaimed triumphantly.

Ranma glanced at Keitaro, who had been sent through the wall via Naru at the first glimpse of female flesh. _'He he thinks I'm hard on him.'_

Seta simply looked at his bio-exo-armor, flexing his fingers. Having changed discretely during the long winded explanation of the past week or so, he'd wondered just what his daughter's new friend had developed. Though he'd seen some of the advanced technology of the other world, it was clear that this hybrid technology was more than just a simply adaption on the Bonta-kun Arm Slaves. Eyeing the triple eye markers on the back of his palms he searched his memory for the unusual symbol.

"It uses a combination of magic and technology to enhance your strength," Su stated proudly. "Drawing in ambient magical energy from your jumps to power up the suit, though it might slow down the charge time of the jumps as a side-effect."

Ranma eyed the inventive girl.

"It's just speculative, though you guys were gone for over a week, much longer than we had anticipated. Still, I've been monitoring the gates, and they've been peeking every 24 hours now rather than 12, so it might not affect the gates," Su rationalized.

Eishin shook his head, "I think that the portals are charging up at the same rate, but because it takes more energy to open it'll take longer for them to acquire the right amount of energy needed to transport you between dimensions."

"Is it because there are more people traveling through the portals?" Seta asked.

Again Eishin shook his head. "No, I think that the portals are designed to stay open for so long before they finally exhaust their energy and can't be activated again. I studied Hikaru Gosunkugi's spell and it leads me to believe that you originally only had a week to solve your dilemma before the portals closed completely, but with the markers that he originally created and then the last one that Motoko created, the spell was thrown off."

"That doesn't make sense," Ranma said aloud.

"Think of the symbols not just as markers for the portals, but as energy collectors," the scruffy blond mage elaborated. "Gosunkugi isn't a mage or wizard, so to perform magic he needs something to power his spell. If someone with magical ability created a rune or glyph they use their own magical energy to fuel it, but since he has no magical energy, the rune must draw on the ambient magical energy so that he can cast his spell or even access the magical energy in the artifact. But he didn't just use one glyph, he used several. Each of them is drawing power and works with the others to supply that power when needed, thus extending the life of all of the other glyphs as well."

The cursed boy turned girl nodded. "So how long do I have?"

"Two, maybe three weeks," Eishin replied.

"Can't we just create more glyphs?" Kanako asked. "Like we did in Okinawa?"

"That'll only extend it, but it's hard to do," Ranma grumbled. "It's hard enough to coordinate things in one world, much less two."

The elder Aoyama sibling nodded. "With the Frozen Flame in your hands the glyphs should stabilize though," he added. "But again, that's only hypothetical. We've never dealt with something like this. It's unlike any of the teleportation spells that the magi use and even those can be destroyed without constant care."

"So what if we have the Magi in the other world help out?" Kanako suggested.

"It's possible," Takahata ceded. "Worth a shot at least, but you'll still need the other half of the Frozen Flame."

Ranma nodded. "So if the gates don't open along the same schedule…"

"You have until tomorrow," Keitaro stated.

Su glanced at Ranma. "What happened to the watch I gave you?"

# # # # #

"This is… unprecedented," the commander stated, still wrapping his mind around the entire story. "Parallel dimensions, unexplained energy signatures that allow people to jump between dimensions."

"Actually," the science officer interjected, "it has been theorized by several acclaimed researchers. This could be the key they're looking for."

"But this is an undeveloped planet," the commander interrupted. "Federation Law forbids us from interfering with them or helping to advance their technology so that we can study some anomaly that only occurs on their planet."

"But we're not interfering," Hatsuho stated, "I'm just here to observe."

The commander sat back in his seat, his thick brown hair matted to his face as he eyed his subordinate's image on the monitor. "Cadet, I order you to return to the ship," he growled.

"But Sir," the science officer objected.

"You may have Claire infiltrate the group and observe, but you are to return to the ship," he repeated.

"Aye Sir," the busty woman nodded.

For her part the tiny holographic AI nodded. Changing her visual settings so that she no longer was visible to the human eye, she levitated off of the young cadet's shoulder.

# # # # #

"I can't believe he's in there with that… pervert!" Naru shouted as she stalked the corridor outside of the open-air bath.

"They're not alone," Motoko stated as she eyed the busty Amazon. The swordswoman found no fault in letting the currently female Ranma bath with the men considering that even the usually pervy Happosai wasn't very interested in the cursed boy turned girl's sickly and under-developed body. Besides, Tsuruko, Eishin, Keitaro, Hinata, and Cologne were all in there, each in bathing suits as was the cursed Ranma. Only Kanako and Seta were absent as the two were making other preparations for their next trip. Then again, the two of them weren't stuck in a foreign body as Ranma currently was.

But it was the cursed weapons and armor that he wielded that concerned her.

"I don't see why that Baka is included in on the meetings," Naru grumbled.

The slender kendoka simply shrugged, "I don't know why either."

# # # # #

"You're sure she's going to follow your orders?" the alien first mate asked as the Science officer left the bridge. "Lepton isn't part of the Federation…"

"I really don't know," the furry captain stated as he leaned back in his captain's chair. "What did I ever do to get an Alpha Cygni assigned to me? Everyone knows that they hate taking orders from males.

"Keep an eye on her, and make sure that Fran keeps a teleporter ready in case we need to pull her out suddenly," the hairy alien ordered. "I've read her file and there's a reason why she's still a cadet even though she's nearly 40 cycles. Who knows what kind of chaos an Alpha Cygni is going to get us into?"

"Sir," the helmsman interrupted, "I analyzed the readings of the travelers, and one of them is definitely Alpha Cygni, though she's heavily cloaked.

"Great, just great," the furry captain groaned. "Now we've got two Alpha Cygni on the planet."

"Actually, I was scanning the entire planet and picked up a Santovasku ship as well," the first mate replied.

"Crap," the captain exclaimed. "Call up the Feds – if I'm right, then the Santovasku are behind the mysterious energy we're detecting and behind the attack on the Alpha Cygni Royal transport.

"Get the Cadet on the horn and then get her back on the ship. If she figures out that her princess was abducted by those pirates she might go rogue on us."

# # # # #

"This Flame should lead me to the other," Ranma stated as he looked at his hand. With the magical artifact now inside of him he could feel the slowly gathering energies from the glyphs or symbols that were the markers for the portals. Eishin had been right, they were starting to break down, though they had stabilized a bit when he'd merged with the Frozen Flame. Still, he needed to find the Frozen Flame in the other world if he wanted to stay here. With the half that he'd consumed he could feel the pull of the portal growing stronger as it gathered more power.

"It should lead you to the other Genma," Happosai stated. "But if he's as good as I am I do wonder if you really stand a chance against him."

The cursed martial artist nodded, "I'll beat him."

"I know you're determined to get those girls back," Eishin added, "but your current form isn't nearly as powerful as your original body, even with the Ultimate Strength Moxibustion and the suit that Su gave you. And even with the cursed weapons…"

Forcing his body to stand, Ranma shook his scarred head.

"Where are you going son-in-law?" Cologne asked.

"I need to think," he replied with a backward glance.

Happosai and Eishin nodded, acknowledging the cursed youth's need to get his head straight.

Taking a deep breath Ranma leapt over the tall fence.

# # # # #

'_That was definitely an Alpha Cygni signature,'_ Hatsuho thought as she examined Claire's scan. _'I have to investigate this.'_

Ignoring her commander's orders, the purple haired alien eyed a map of the terrain. _'There appears to be a labyrinth structure beneath the building that I can't scan – a hidden ship maybe? But what about the strange portal? I need to get Claire up there – perhaps the hidden passage?'_

Eyeing the tiny opening, the experienced cadet dashed for the hidden passage.

# # # # #

'_There's an Alpha Cygni,'_ the young officer thought as slipped out of the Hinata Sou. _'Did she escape from her captors? If she did, why aren't they looking for her? Or is she one of the Royal Guard survivors?_'

So many questions, but no definitive answers drove the young alien mad.

Spotting the fleeting image of the mysterious girl that had been assisted through the portal by her two companions, the disoriented officer rushed to pursue. Someone had to have some answers.

# # # # #

Having spent the past year being pursued by the initially vengeful then lustful Amazon, Ranma knew a thing or two about having someone on his tail, even in his new body. Leaping off a springy branch, the cursed martial artist slipped into the Umisenken, he made sure to suppress even the magical energies that traveling through the dimensional portals as well as those provided to him through the cursed armor and weapons, making him virtually invisible to his mysterious pursuer.

Gifted with an unnatural sight due to the influx of magical energies from the Frozen Flame and from the Demon Tears, Ranma easily saw the mysterious woman despite the equipment that she was using to mask her presence.

Grabbing a stone, he slipped behind the strange female with two toned hair he threw the stone several paces ahead of the woman, drawing her attention away from him and exposing her back to him. Just as she turned towards the sudden sound, Ranma swept the feet out from underneath her before tackling her to the ground and disrupting her cloaking devices.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?" the frail girl demanded.

A surge of surprising strength was the cursed martial artist's reply as the woman with white and pink hair forced her way free of the frail girl's grasp. A sudden spin kick forced Ranma to back away, giving the stranger a chance to turn around and get a good look at the cursed fighter.

"Where's the Alpha Cygni?" the woman demanded.

"Alpha wha?" Ranma replied as his body instinctively dodged a punch. _'Shit, still not fast enough.'_

Springing over a low leg kick, Ranma panted his foot into the unusual woman's face, sending her sprawling. Though she clearly had some power behind her attacks, it was clear that she wasn't trained in any style that Ranma knew. Still, she appeared to be little more than a female version of Ryoga. Even in this body, Ranma was sure that he could defeat her. "That all you got?"

# # # # #

The sound of fighting quickly reached the ears of the experienced ensign just as she reached the hidden entrance to the secret passages. Turning to the sound of breaking branches, the purple haired alien spotted sudden movement as two fighters engaged each other.

Though one figure appeared to be physically weak, significantly so when compared to the very healthy advisory, the bald girl appeared to be holding her own against the more powerful alien. A swift punch turned into a feint that led to a knee, all gracefully dodged by the strange girl.

Backpedaling, the girl leapt over a vicious punch, barely dodging the blow as she did so. Turning nimbly in the air she captured the off-balance girl, driving her feet into the alien's back even as she slammed the Alpha Cygni into the unforgiving ground.

Unwilling to allow a fellow Alpha Cygni to go unaided, Hatsuho rushed the bald girl. Though she lacked the full training of a Royal Guardsman, the ensign was an accomplished fighter among a species/race that was renowned for producing exceptional fighters.

The powerful overhead punch was merely a feint for the flying axe kick that followed, both of which were skillfully dodged by the human fighter though the attacks did force the smaller fighter away from the other Alpha Cygni fighter.

"Who are you?" she asked as the woman with pink and white hair forced herself to her feet.

"Officer Birdy, Federation Police."

"Hatsuho Kazami, Cadet on the Stratos."

"Stratos? Isn't that an observer class?" Birdy asked as she eyed the frail girl before her. "I thought there weren't any science ships in the solar system."

Ranma blinked. "Wait a minute… You two are aliens?"

The two women glanced at Ranma.

"Ensign," a voice cut in, roaring in the ensign and officer's ear, "this is Captain Furby of the Stratos. Why have you not only exposed your presence to a native, but engaged her in combat?"

The two Alpha Cygni paused, glancing at each other then at the bald girl before them.

"Okay," Ranma said, holding his hands up, "magic I get, and inter-dimensional travel too, but aliens?"

X X X X X

A/N

I think I'll leave it at that. Have a good weekend everyone, and have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July to all us Yanks.

Dreamingfox


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Notes –

I must apologize. I had thought that I was well on my way to ending this fic, but it appears that I've simply set up the first of many divergent tales in this adventure. This fic will probably consume much more of my time than I had originally estimated as well as keep me from working on other fics that I'm sure some of readers who follow my writings prefer. Still, that's how it goes sometimes.

Oh, there's a new poll on my profile. Maya easily creamed Ukyo 17-3.

Enjoy.

# # # # #

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor, announcing the walker's presence to all those inside. It annoyed him. Hours ago when he'd walked the other way he'd barely made a sound, but now, well, now they were different.

"You're injured," a deep, husky voice stated.

Nodding, the walker scanned the shadows.

"What of the officer?" the mysterious speaker asked.

"Dealt with," the injured man answered. "She's tougher than she appears, but nothing that I couldn't handle."

The other man audibly sniffed the air, "Plasma grenade?"

"I'm not that stupid," the first man replied. "I know that there's a research ship in orbit – they would have noticed a plasma discharge. I lured the officer into a factory, and then trapped her in molten steel."

"Trapped? Sounds like she's dead."

"Either way, she's no longer our concern."

"Until they send another to investigate."

"But how long will it take the Feds to send someone to this backwater?"

"Who said that the Feds were going to do anything? She was an Alpha Cygni – they always look out for their own. They'll send a squad to check."

"Again," the injured man interjected, "how long will it take them to send someone here? They don't even know she was on this planet, much less this quadrant. Besides, this solar system and the ones around it are still being contested – no one is supposed to be here without the consent of the Feds and the Santovasku. There's no way the Santovasku would allow the Alpha Cygni to send a team here just to find one Federation Officer."

"What about the research ship?"

"They're researchers; if they become a problem then we shoot them down once the ship is repaired," the husky voiced speaker stated. "But for now, we have to prepare things for the ritual."

# # # # #

This little rock, the third from its sun, was a promising planet. Though the majority of the planet's surface was covered with water, it was home to a variety of life forms and species. One particular species seemed to dominate the dry surface, building towering constructs and even managing to send objects into orbit around the planet. Though this relatively young species had yet to voyage beyond the planet's lone moon, it possessed the potential to eventually go beyond the solar system.

As the lone planet in the solar system capable of supporting life, Earth, as the inhabitants of the planet dubbed the rock, had garnered the attention of many. Many of the Santovasku claimed that the planet was once their ancestral home, though some of them claimed that the now destroyed fourth planet in the solar system had been their ancestral home and that Earth had been their first colony.

The Alpha Cygni were interested in the planet because the Humans, as the dominant species of the planet called themselves, were one of the few races that appeared to be capable of breeding with the all female race naturally.

Staring up at the girl named Ranma; the young detective bristled at the thought of losing to such a sickly young girl. Yes, the girl had superior technique and speed but she lacked power and durability. Still, the girl had managed to defeat her. As a proud Alpha Cygni warrior (and officer of the Federation), Birdy couldn't help but feel a bit put out by her loss.

Like all Alpha Cygni, she'd been raised on the home world, endured the planet's high gravity, and trained rigorously. It was the combination of training and the planet's gravity that produced such stout, durable, and strong women. For a man of any race to be allowed to marry and Alpha Cygni, he had to prove himself worthy of her and endure a year of life on Cygni Beta, the least populated but most dangerous of the worlds in the Alpha Cygni system.

The all female race had thrived because the women only settled with the strongest males that they could breed with. Considering the size of the planet and the lower gravity, Birdy had been surprised by her discovery that a native of the planet had been able to best her. True, the girl had a strength augmenting suit, but still, that didn't account for the fact that the girl had managed to hold her own against two Alpha Cygni warriors at once.

"I'm impressed," the shriveled Amazon stated as she glanced at Ranma, "you seem to have adapted to your new body remarkably well in such a short amount of time."

"What can I say, I'm a quick learner," the bald girl replied.

"Well, I'm impressed as well," the shriveled grandmaster added as he glanced at the two alien women, "you still manage to attract the hottest babes to you even though you're stuck in a girl's body."

"My son," another woman exclaimed, "your manliness cannot be denied – even in a woman's body women are attracted to you like flies to honey!"

Birdy blinked, not sure what to make of the strange interaction and dialogue.

"It's a long story," the other Alpha Cygni muttered. "Claire, transmit recording 1 to the officer's visual uplink."

Birdy blinked as a visual recording was uploaded to her visor.

"Ooh," the dark-skinned blond girl exclaimed as she planted her face a few centimeters from Birdy's. "Alien technology…" she drooled. "Can I see?"

"Su!" a slender girl exclaimed. "What are you doing?" Grabbing old of the smaller girl she dragged the strange girl away.

"They're really aliens?" an auburn haired girl asked.

Ranma rubbed his bald head. "Yeah," the boy turned girl replied. "This just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

"So," Birdy said as she finished processing the long recording, "you're saying that if there was a me in this world that I had died, and that allowed me to travel here with you from this parallel dimension?"

Everyone turned to look at the alien with two toned hair.

"Yeah," the sickly girl replied. "Only those of us who don't exist in the other world can travel between dimensions."

"He got my other self killed," the girl known as Kanako shrugged as she pointed at Ranma.

"I don't know how the other me died," the tall man in the long white coat lied, "and our other companion is a native of the other world, like you, but we don't know how he died in this world."

"You're lying," the other alien stated.

Seta glanced at Ranma, who in turn glanced at Kanako.

"Keitaro," the adopted Urashima said, "why don't you take your residents and guest to make us a late night snack before we depart."

"Um, sure," the Urashima heir replied. "Su, why don't you bring Sarah? She looks like she could use something to eat."

"Yay!" the tanned blond exclaimed. "Come on Sarah – we're gonna enjoy some bananas!"

"Maybe we should bring her something to wear," Naru suggested as she lead Shinobu and Motoko down the stairs.

"For an advanced alien race, you'd think that their officers would wear something more modest," Motoko chimed in as she fell into step beside the older girl.

Before the Sarah could even protest the energetic Su grabbed hold of tiny blond, dragging her down the stairs behind Keitaro and several other girls. "Bananas!"

Waiting to make sure that the younger girls and Keitaro were gone, Seta pulled out a cigarette.

"Hey, no smoking!" Haruka exclaimed.

"I didn't light it yet," Seta stated as he eyed his former lover, a slight tinge of sadness in his eyes. "The truth is I know how I died and who killed me." Turning away from the brunette, Seta sighed. "I was killed in a terrorist attack when I went to visit my lover after she'd given birth to my child."

Haruka froze.

"Haruka," he said, "promise me that you won't let Sarah near the portals."

The brunette froze, realization dawning on her. "I promise," she finally replied.

Though she knew that he'd left something out, Hatsuho knew better than to press the issue. Turning to the sickly, bald girl, she eyed the formidable fighter. "So you're not really a female?"

Ranma blinked, not sure how to reply. "I'm really a guy," he replied. "They did something to put me in this body and took my body in exchange."

"Look," Birdy exclaimed, "I don't care about that. I just need to get back to the other world so that I can find whoever it is that assaulted the Alpha Cygni royal transport."

"That happened in your world too?" the older alien exclaimed.

"Wait, you mean that it happened here too?" the energetic and rash alien replied.

Hatsuho nodded. "The youngest princess"

"is missing," Birdy finished.

"So," Ranma said, putting two and two together, "what if you were sent to investigate this in this world? Would that mean that you died?"

A chill ran down Birdy's spine. "I need to get in touch with Command."

The others looked at Ranma, clearly expecting him/her to object. Seeing none, the white and pink haired alien proceeded with her call, "Command, this is Officer Birdy."

The younger alien could feel her heart pounding beneath her ample breasts as she waited for a reply.

"This is Commander Khan," a stern voice replied, "why are you using this frequency Officer Birdy? You're supposed to be using frequency 199.1"

"My apologies sir," the officer replied. "My com unit was damaged when I encountered one of the suspects."

"Did you apprehend the suspect?"

"Negative, he was incinerated when he fell into a pool of lava."

"That is unfortunate. Did you at least discover who he is and who he works with?"

"I'll send the information," the young officer replied as she tapped the communicator on her wrist. "Transmitting."

"I'll have Officer Leforge go over the information," the commander replied. "But we'll be using frequency Tau Kappa. I'm sure you understand the situation you're in."

"Yes, commander, I do," Birdy replied. "I won't be receiving any back up due to the nature of the world I'm currently on."

"The higher ups don't want you to know this, but I'm sure you understand the significance of that world and the incident in question," the stern commander said, his voice growing more serious. "But the Cygni ambassador to the Federation has stated that if we can't find the culprits behind the assault, they're going to leave the Federation. I'm sure you know that if they leave, then they're going to send a squad to that back-water planet, and that would re-ignite the Cygni- Santovasku war."

Birdy nodded. "I know. I'll do my best."

"I know you will. Report in once you have some more information," the commander ordered. "Good luck."

Ranma waited for the girl to stop paying attention to her communicator before voicing his thoughts, "If this is such an important investigation, why did they send only you?"

"You don't understand," Hatsuho cut in. "Your species haven't even gone past your own moon. Under Federation law we aren't supposed to be interacting with you. We can observe, but that's it. That's what I'm supposed to be here for. If not for those strange energy flares caused by your dimensional portal I wouldn't have come down to the planet's surface.

"Officer Birdy is allowed to come down here because she's pursing criminals. But she's not supposed to interact with you 'Humans' unless it's utterly necessary. The fact that you discovered us should lead to each of us being stripped of our ranks and position.

"Then there's the fact that your world is supposedly the ancestral home to the Santovasku. They wish to reclaim your world for themselves, which makes this planet and the entire solar system a political landmine. For the Federation to send even one Alpha Cygni to this planet is a major victory for the Federation and the Cygni."

"So it's like the Neutral Zone," the raven haired mage offered. Everyone else simply looked at the mage strangely. "You know – Star Trek. You know how there's the Demilitarized plot of land between North and South Korea? Well, that's what the Neutral Zone is in Star Trek – a section of space between both the Federation and the Romulean Empire that acts as a buffer area.

"Earth, and this solar system, is in that DMZ or Neutral Zone, and both sides have to agree to send forces into the Neutral Zone or there could be total war between both sides."

"So why was there an Alpha Cygni transport in the area?" Ranma asked as he tried to keep abreast of what Eishin was saying.

"Alpha Cygni is relatively close to this solar system," Hatsuho replied. "We are in what you call the 'Alpha Centuri' star system."

"Wow," Seta exclaimed. "That's the solar system closet to ours that is capable of supporting life."

Birdy nodded. "There are two planets and over five dozen moons in the Cygni contingent, Alpha Cygni which is the first planet from our sun, and Beta Cygni, the largest planet in our solar system and the second from the sun. The Royal Transport was attacked on rout to Gamma Cygni, the last planet in our solar system. They were on their way back from Hyperion Two, the home of the Federation."

The gathered humans nodded.

"Um, as much as I'd like to hear more," Ranma interrupted, "we gotta get going. The portal's about to open."

"What about the snacks that the girls were going to bring us?" Seta asked.

"I thought you didn't want Sarah to come close to the portal," Haruka interjected.

"Right," the taller man replied.

"If you agree to help me with my investigation, I'll help you find your body," Birdy offered. "If I can't find the princess in this world, your planet will be in the middle of a galactic war."

Ranma glanced around at the others. "I was going to help you just because I was a nice guy, but if you put it that way – no."

Birdy blinked, astonished by the girl's boldness.

"Please," Hatsuho pleaded as she reached for Ranma's hand.

Seeing the older alien woman start to tear up, Ranma tried to pull away from her. "Fine," he responded as the room began to brighten.

"Thank you," the ensign said, pulling Ranma into an embrace.

Ranma seemed to melt in the busty alien's embrace. Even Shampoo's glomps and seeing the Amazon naked had failed to get such a response from him – and he was in a girl's body. Feeling the woman's ample breasts pressed against his, Ranma did all that he could to get out – which is to say not much really.

"Um," Kanako said, interrupting them, "we really should get going."

"Yeah," Ranma replied as he tried to pulled away from Hatsuho. "We'll be back once I get my real body back."

A bright light enveloped the room, forcing everyone to cover their eyes.

Hatsuho simply felt the body in her arms melt away then vanish, leaving no trace of the boy trapped in a sickly girl's body except for the lingering heat on her skin. Turning to the woman who claimed the cursed boy as her son, the older alien blushed. "Just how manly is your son?"

X X X X X

"Are you alright?" Keitaro asked as he looked at the sickly girl that was Ranma.

"Um, yeah," the bald girl replied.

"You sure? You look like you've got a fever."

Seta merely smirked while Kanako diverted her eyes.

"Who's you're new companion?" Tsuruko asked as she eyed the scantily clad woman with two-toned hair.

"Everybody," Ranma said as he turned to Birdy, "is Birdy. She's an alien."

"What?" several people exclaimed.

"I… I thought you weren't going to tell them!" the alien shouted.

"Not part of our agreement," Ranma shrugged. "The deal was I help you find the Princess in this and the other world, and you help me with my quest. If you can't trust those who are helping me then you can't trust me."

"So in your world you lack the technology we have but you have aliens?" Eishin smirked.

"Actually, she's from this world," Seta cut in. "She snuck in when we jumped to the other world and Ranma discovered her."

"So we have advanced technology and aliens while you have magic?" Happosai asked.

"Well, both worlds have magic, though mine has more," Ranma replied. "And both worlds have aliens."

"Hot, busty aliens wearing barely there clothing?" the ancient grandmaster asked as he eyed Birdy's revealing outfit.

"Always a pervert," Ranma grumbled.

"So, Keitaro, you know the tunnels, right?" the older man asked, trying to direct the conversation back on topic.

"Yeah," the young Todai student replied as he pried his eyes from the attractive alien. "Do all aliens look like you?"

Kanako smacked her adopted brother over the head. "Moron, stay on task!"

"Right," Keitaro mumbled as he rubbed his head.

"What about the Princess?" Birdy objected.

"Claire," Ranma said as he pulled out a small device.

The holographic AI resumed its assumed form in the cursed martial artist's hand.

"That's why you were hugging her," Seta smirked. "Roaming hands…"

"Claire," Ranma repeated, ignoring the looks that his companions were shooting him, "this is Eishin. He'll help you find the Princess."

"Princess?" the mage asked.

"Yeah, we have to stop an intergalactic war," the cursed boy replied. "Long story, but Claire will fill you in while we hunt for my old man and get my body back."

"Um," Keitaro grumbled, "about that."

The dimension jumping travelers looked at the Urashima heir.

"You had some visitors while you were away."

Ranma followed Keitaro's gaze towards the opening to Motoko's room. "Rogue? Taro?"

"You know these two?" Tsuruko asked, her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"You," the bald girl pointed to the woman, "fell into the pool of drowned Asura."

The woman nodded.

"And you were the one that Happosai bathed in the Spring of Drowned Yeti riding on an Ox while carrying a Crane and Eel."

"And you are the one that the Demon Tears is calling out for," the woman replied.

Ranma blinked. "You're from the Phoenix tribe?"

Rogue nodded.

"And you are the bearer of the Demon Tears," he added as he sensed the magical energy radiating from the cursed woman. "Um, so how do I get it out of you?"

Rogue blinked. Clearly she had no idea either.

'_Kiss her,'_ Hina suggested.

'_I'd vote for that,'_ Kien seconded.

'_Me too,'_ Hannya added.

Before he could even think of objecting, Ranma found himself pulling the beautiful cursed woman towards him. Pressing his lips against hers he felt a sudden surge of power as their lips met.

Blinking, Ranma realized that he was no longer kissing Rogue. Actually, he wasn't even standing. "What happened?"

"You passed out," Keitaro replied.

"Really?" the cursed martial artist asked.

"Yep," Kanako answered. "It's already morning."

"We all got some sleep," Seta's reassuring voice added.

Lifting his head from the pillow, Ranma craned his neck and glanced towards the corner of the room.

"We're about to get some food before we set off for the tunnels," the older man stated. "Sagara is on his way here and Birdy is with Eishin setting Claire to scan for alien energy frequencies or whatever."

Ranma nodded as he sat up. "Looks like we've got all the bases covered."

"Covered, but we still need to get your body back and find Genma to get Motoko and Ryoko back," Keitaro grumbled. "We're all rested up and ready to go."

"Good," Ranma replied.

"But we're not going alone," Seta interrupted.

"Rogue and Taro?" the cursed boy hoped.

"They went back," the older man shook his head.

"Ukyo," Kanako supplied. "Birdy's going too, once she finishes setting up her equipment with Eishin."

"She'd been through the Underground with me, and she lived there before with Ryu," Keitaro explained. "We're going to need someone who knows their way around down there."

Ranma nodded. "Fine."

# # # # #

"Sir," the helmsman exclaimed, "we've lost our readings from Claire."

"What?" the furry captain shouted. "What about the ensign?"

"She's still observing, but the readings from Claire have been fluctuating for the past couple of hours before finally dying when the last flare up of energy occurred."

The captain growled as he considered his options. Though he didn't want the lone Cygni ensign surface side much less alone, he knew that he had no real options. "Send her another AI immediately. I want her to keep her distance from the anomaly for now."

X X X X X

It had taken the better part of an hour for the group of adventurers to get ready. Though they were well rested and fed, Ranma had soon discovered another draw back to his current body. Having spent the week slowly getting his new body used to food, Ranma knew that he couldn't just pig out as he'd end up spending much more time throwing up the same food moments later. Forced to actually chew his food and take time to allow his stomach to digest everything took time, time that the speedy boy wasn't used to giving up.

Still, the time had been well spent as Sagara once again rejoined the group. As skilled as the young soldier was, it took the better part of the hour to get accustomed to the bio-boosting suit that Su had created.

"This is truly ingenious," the scarred mercenary stated as he crushed a boulder. "It may not be as strong as a full Arm Slave, but it's much stronger than anything of comparable size."

Kaname simply eyed the very revealing suit, "Um, couldn't she have made it, um, less, um, skin-tight?"

Ranma eyed the teal haired girl and shook his head, "It's meant to be worn under everything else, and it leaves more to the imagination than Birdy's suit."

"She's really an alien?" the Whispered girl asked, her skepticism clearly dripping with each word.

"Yes," Birdy answered. "This is why you're species hasn't gone past your own moon. I can't believe you're so ignorant."

"How is that thing supposed to protect you from bullets or knives?" the skeptical girl asked.

"It's not," the alien replied. "It's supposed to keep my insides from bursting out. The planet I'm from has higher gravity, so my body is used to having more pressure put upon it. But in a low gravity planet like this my inside would probably pop out"

"Oh, I think you'll find that it's not your insides popping out in that outfit," Happosai snickered.

Birdy shot the old woman a dark look. "As I was saying, this suit created an artificial gravity field around me so that my body thinks that it is still enduring nearly normal gravity. It's skimpy because anything more and it would get in my way."

"It looks like a skin tight bathing suit," Tsuruko sneered.

"You barbarians just don't know Galactic fashion," the alien sniped back.

"That outfit screams 'Sexual Harassment'," Kaname added. "Or 'Easy'. I'd expect to see a Gravure Model wearing that, not an officer of the Galactic Federation."

Though he normally didn't like to get in the middle of a brewing catfight, Ranma knew that he couldn't spare the time to watch the two females from throwing down. "That's enough," he said as he stepped between them, "we've got to get going. You can save your snarky comments for when we get back."

Reluctantly, the two women backed down, putting the 'greater good' before their own individual egos.

"If anything ever does go down between them, my money is on Birdy," Keitaro muttered.

"Same," Ranma replied.

"Though Ms. Chidori is a prime example of an athletic female," Sagara added, "she does appear to be statistically disadvantaged against a highly trained officer. But she has surprised me and others as well. My money's on Chidori."

The two cousins looked at each other, then at Sagara and his straight face.

Before Ranma could open his mouth to insert his own foot into it, Keitaro nodded, "The entrance is beneath the Tea House. It's still on the family land so no one not associated with the Alliance would be there. There's also a secret passage from the Hinata Sou to the Tea House so we don't need to be too cautious, though we will need to crawl."

Ranma nodded. "Fine, lead the way."

# # # # #

"Sir," the cloaked soldier said as he approached the dais. Waiting for his superior to acknowledge him, the figure knelt on one knee and lowered his head.

"Yes?" the armored warrior finally said, his attention now on the cloaked soldier.

"We picked up an unusual energy signature," the soldier reported. Pulling out a small display, he waited for a response.

"Put it on screen three," the warrior replied as he turned towards said screen.

Pressing a few buttons, the soldier did as he was ordered, displaying a blue, green, and brown planet along side various energy readings and graphs as well as a star chart and map of the solar system.

"When did you first detect these energy signatures?" the armored figure demanded.

"We just received them," the soldier replied, "but judging from the distance the planet in question was to where we are, the first of the signals was over 4 daily cycles."

The warrior nodded. "I will take this to the Emperor himself."

X X X X X

It didn't take long for the group of six to reach the Tea House through the secret passage, despite the fact that there were many seemingly unnecessary twists and turns. The cramped tunnels down to the "Underground" though were very much like the passageway linking the Tea House to the Hinata Sou, though they were straight forward and direct. Then again, they were pretty much straight vertical drops leading to either 90 or 45 degree turns that ultimately led towards Tokyo. Most of the passages were perfectly smooth stone, almost as though something had blasted through the stone. Every hundred meters though the group would encounter a slowly turning fan that helped force the air out from below. The strange, magical seals that lined the tunnels kept the vents from caving in as well as kept the passage ways from being detected.

After traveling over two kilometers under the surface, the group finally reached a slightly sloping cavern.

"It's a good thing you got us these goggles," Ranma said as he stretched. Even after a week of slowly training his new body his new muscles were not completely recovered from the decade of sitting in the tank. But at least they hadn't atrophied. Still, they were growing stronger with each day thanks to Happosai and Cologne.

Sagara held up his fisted hand, silencing everyone.

Too late as a dozen figures in black descended on them.

Instinctively Ranma kicked his attacker, connecting with the man's face and breaking his mask even as he sent the man flying into another fighter descending on Sagara. A swift punch dispatched the other attacker as the still airborne fighter lacked Ranma's finesse in the air.

Seeing three of their own fall so quickly the other attackers hesitated, allowing Seta to extend his staff into the chest of another attacker, knocking him into the wall. A swift flick of the wrist was all he needed to bat two more aside.

"Take them down before they can call for reinforcements!" Keitaro shouted as he rushed in to engage a masked fighter.

Parrying a strike from the clawed fighter, he lashed out with his right, cutting the man in half with the Kusanagi. Stabbing with the blade, he pierced the next fighter's chest before eviscerating the man's lungs.

Ukyo needed no urging as she effortlessly slipped past one attacker's guard before slamming her palm into the masked man's nose. A vicious uppercut to the stomach lifted the man off his feet, allowing her to use him as a shield as she barreled into the next fighter and pushed him into the cavern wall. Her hand flat, she drove her fingers and hand through the chest of the first victim, not stopping until she'd pierced the rib cage of the second man. Feeling his beating heart, she wrapped her and around it before crushing his heart.

Though not as vicious or ruthless, Kanako dispatched the two fighters easily as she employed the basics of the Urashima Fist against them. Her first punch knocked out one opponent while a knee to the groin felled the other.

Deciding against firing off the Witchgun (or any other gun he had on him), Sagara simply grabbed hold of the remaining fighter's arm as he ducked under a punch. Executing a traditional Judo throw, he slammed the man against the unforgiving floor, hard. Before the man could recover, Sousuke followed up with a straight punch to the face, knocking the man out.

"We're not going to get any information out of them," Keitaro stated as he cleaned off the Kusanagi.

"Why is that?" the scarred soldier replied.

"They're mute," Ukyo replied. "Only the third class soldiers travel this far out from the Underground, and all of them are mute by nature. If we'd encountered an elemental user that would have been different, but these are probably just a regular patrol."

Keitaro nodded. "They only handle simple and routine missions. The higher level fighters can manipulate the elements – usually fire, water, and earth."

The brunette girl nodded. "I have heard of a lightning user, as well as a gravity user, though I've never seen them. Water and Earth are the most common."

"And there's so much of both around," Ranma grumbled.

"So," Seta interjected, "what do we do with them?"

Drawing his Hina, Ranma swiftly beheaded the unconscious fighter. Fighting back the urge to throw up from the cruel act, the cursed martial artist stabbed the next figure.

Sagara nodded. Grabbing his fallen opponent, he slammed the man's head against the solid floor. The sickening sound echoed off the cavern walls as blood freely flowed from the man's smashed mouth, nose, and from his cracked skull. "We cannot leave enemies behind us."

X X X X X

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	23. Chapter 23

Author's Notes –

I guess it's time for more disclaimers.

I do not own the rights to Ranma ½, Love Hina, Full Metal Panic, Chrono Cross, Guyver, WitchBlade, Journey to the West, Project Ako, Please Teacher, Outlanders, Tokyo Underground, or Negima. This work is for the pure enjoyment of the writer and the handful of readers who feel that this fic is amusing, entertaining, or whatever.

X X X X X

Silence filled the dark cavern. Though stray lights dotted the cavern, they did little to brighten the darkness while also wrecking havoc for the special goggles that Sousuke had provided the team.

"We're getting closer to a settlement," the brunette girl stated. "Then we might run into non-combatants, but its unlikely this far out. Their eyes are better tuned to the darkness, but they still need some degree of light."

"Could we stop and examine the next group of guys we encounter?" Birdy asked as she took off her goggles. Blinking, she allowed her eyes to adapt to the darkness.

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"I want to check them for something," the alien police officer replied. "I'm pretty sure that one of those guys I fought during that last skirmish had horns."

"There's a reason why some of the people in the Underground live here," Keitaro stated. "Some of them have physical mutations. Japan is very much about fitting in and belonging – you don't do that by sticking out."

The cursed martial artist nodded. In his short tenure at Furinkan he'd been the largest nail that the faculty and administration had failed to make less noticeable. Though Nerima, his Nerima, was more forgiving, it was only because he and the majority of other strange martial artists were, well, strange. Labeling them all as eccentric martial artists was a way to explain their odd behaviors, sort of like calling others 'otaku' for whatever they were passionate about went about explaining why those people did what they did. "So you're saying that they're like the Morlocks from X-Men?"

"Morlocks?" Birdy asked.

"Humans who had physical mutations that made them stand out and eventually seek refuge in the sewers of New York City," Keitaro explained.

"If this were Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the radiation might explain the mutations," Kanako added, "but this is Tokyo."

"Radiation isn't the only source of mutations," Keitaro countered, "not all mutations are caused by radiation – there are inbreeding as well as evolutionary mutations."

For his part, the cursed martial artist simply shrugged. "We should encounter any settlements," he stated. Feeling the burning energy of the Frozen Flame inside of him, he knew that they were getting closer to Genma. "I'm pretty sure that Genma wouldn't be in a settlement with others, he's probably just using the tunnels as a means of getting around Tokyo undetected.

"If we come across another squad, we'll try to keep some of them alive for you to inspect them if you want, but right now, our primary goal is to find Genma and the girls." Taking off his goggles, he eyed his companions. With the aid of the demonic spirits his eyes quickly adapted to the darkness. "For now, we take off the goggles, but if it gets darker, we'll put them back on."

X X X X X

"Sir," the cloaked fighter said, bowing his head as he knelt before his master, "there are more reports of our scouting parties going missing."

"What sector?" the lean figure atop the dais asked.

"Sector six."

"Send out all available hunter agents," the president ordered. "I want them to scour the entire sector.

"Yes, sir," the fighter replied. Though he was only a junior agent without his own squad, he knew that the senior agents were more than a match for any surface fighter. Still, to send six hunter agents and their squads was probably overkill, especially considering that sector six was relatively small.

Standing up, the junior agent kept his head bowed out of respect for the President of the Company. Still, as an observant agent, he could clearly see the distinctive horns on the President's head.

Turning around, he strode purposely out of the chamber, only to stop several paces short as an unusual woman appeared in the doorway. Offering a curt bow, he stepped aside, allowing the woman to pass.

"Ah," the President's booming voice greeted, "I was wondering when you'd get here Christella."

Being the good, aspiring agent that he was, the young fighter simply left, not bothering to ask the guards about the new stranger as he sought to complete his task.

# # # # #

"You're sure about this?" the cloaked figure asked as he eyed the readings.

The armored general before him simply nodded.

"Gather all the generals," the regal figure ordered. "I must make an important address."

The general blinked. "But sir," he said raising his horns ever so slightly, "what of the treaty with the Federation?"

"Do you not see?" the emperor demanded. "There are more important things than our treaty with the Federation! This could endanger our entire empire. Once before the Flame Champion destroyed our ancestral home – do you think he will stop with just one world this time?"

The general shook his head. "No, sir, but…"

"I am sure that the Federation and their spies will see the broadcast anyways," the mighty emperor stated. "You are right in that we should not overlook them, but our primary concern is the Flame Champion. While Xena may have been able to summon the Dragon God, only the Flame Champion could control him. We must not give him the time to complete the summoning."

X X X X X

The cold darkness greeted her as she opened her eyes. Blinking, she took a breath. Blood – liberal amounts of blood.

"You're awake," her companion asked.

"He's not here?" she asked.

"No," the other girl replied. "He taking care of the bodies."

Though time appeared to have been lost to her in the darkness, Motoko had hoped for a time that the masked men with claws would save them from the muscular man that now held the prisoner. Instead she's seen the true vile power that Genma Saotome possessed as the most feared martial artist in the world effortlessly executed the seemingly hapless warriors that he engaged. As a swordswoman and a member of the Shinmeiryu she'd seen plenty of violence, but nothing like this. She was glad that the darkness of the Underground tunnels had kept her from seeing more than she already had. Still, what she had seen was more than she could imagine.

The sound of heavy feet gently grinding against the rocky floor told her than he wasn't approaching. Though she feared the man, she knew that she couldn't rely on them to save herself or Ryoko.

Beside her, the busty kendoka stiffened, straining her ears and hoping that Genma hadn't gone too far.

Once, not too long ago, he had ventured off to scavenge for food, leaving the two tied and bound girls alone. They hadn't thought anything of it at the time as he often did that when he thought they were asleep or had found somewhere safe to settle in. But then a patrol party had found the two captive girls all alone. They were just three fighters, but they quickly made it clear that they weren't there to rescue the girls. No, they only cared that the girls were valuable to the male who had killed so many of their comrades. Killing them would enrage him, just as the death of their comrades had enraged them.

Whatever their reasoning, the trio was never able to capitalize as Genma silently returned, killing each man just after they'd shredded the girls' skirts and blouses, one of them even leaving a shallow cut on Ryoko's ample bosom.

Having spent what felt like weeks in the semi-darkness of the tunnels, the two martial artists had thought that their eyes had adapted marginally well, though not as well as what Genma or the men with claws were capable of. Both knew that the masked fighters could easily spot their pale white skin in this darkness, and their current state of undress and the chains binding them left them completely defenseless.

Still, both girls huddled against the rocky wall, hoping that they were just hearing things while also hoping that Genma was close by. Neither dared to cry out in case there weren't any scouts or whatever they were present as there might be more around.

"You girls are pretty nervous," Genma stated as he announced himself. "But I guess that's to be expected – I have kept you down here for over a week."

Both girls blinked, soaking in what the terrible man was saying.

"I guess you didn't mean too much to the boy," the muscular fighter stated. "Or he's doing a bang up con job."

"You don't know Ranma," Ryoko growled. "He's nothing like you. He's honorable and kind, and a true martial artist."

Genma snorted, "Like a girl like you would know what a true martial artist is. You wave your little bokken and call yourself a kendoka, but you're pathetic – both of you are pathetic. When I was your age I could outrun a mob that was easily faster than either of you."

"You could swim across the sea from Japan to China," Motoko cut in, recalling what she'd heard from the pigtailed martial artist's past. "Wait, that's what Ranma did. This Ranma also survived the Neko-ken training – being tied down with fish products and being thrown into a pit of hungry cats."

The muscular man looked down at the girl.

Though he was one of the last of the great martial artists, Motoko knew that even Genma Saotome was skeptical of the fact that this boy who claimed to be his son from another dimension. It was just too much to believe, but had she not seen it herself, the slender kendoka wouldn't have believed it either.

"Than I guess we'll wait to see if he can really live up to being my son," the powerful martial artist finally said.

X X X X X

The busty redhead scowled.

"Is there something wrong Sophia?" the silver-grey haired youth asked.

"You're sure that your equipment is working properly?" the girl replied.

"Yes," Leonard replied. "Though I am at a loss to explain those readings myself, I am certain that the equipment is functioning properly."

The redhead nodded. "We must speed up the construction of the Omni sphere," she stated. "It appears as though there are others who are seeking to do the same thing that we are."

"I'll have my men work even harder and faster," the young man replied.

Sophia simply nodded. Though she trusted Leonard to fulfill his role, she was sure that had he known the true purpose behind her schemes, he would not have agreed to follow her. He was after all, just a a minion. As a Santovasku-human hybrid and techno-mage, she alone understood the meaning behind the readings on the machine. There was a Santovasku ship on Earth. That meant that she wouldn't have to recreate the dragon ship that had lay buried beneath Tokyo.

Yes, the Omni Sphere would increase her powers, but if she could get her hands on a Dragon Ship then she could use its power to help her take control of the weak minded humans. The superior fire power that a Santovasku ship was more than enough to deal with the pathetic technology that the Humans had. And if the solar system was still being disputed between the Santovasku and the Federation, than none of the other alien races would dare to interfere with her plans. Yes, with the resources of the entire planet at her desposal as well as the remains of the Santovasku's home world still orbiting this planet she could easily create a galactic power that threatened both the Federation and the Santovasku.

"I want you to send a squad here," Sophia ordered her minion, pointing to a rejoin just outside of Tokyo.

Leonard eyed the coordinates. "As you command."

# # # # #

"Our ancient enemy has awoken!" the mighty and imposing figure of the Emperor stated, his image displayed on millions of monitors throughout the empire. "We must mass our forces once again and prepare for war!

"You all know the stories of how our ancestral home world was destroyed by the flames – and though we now reside on multiple planets we cannot allow even one of them to be destroyed by those flames of destruction!

"Brothers, sisters – our fathers and mothers before us and their fathers and mothers before them for over twelve millennia wanted us to become strong because they knew that one day our former neighbors would once again threaten us. That day is now upon us! Let us not disappoint our forefathers and ancestors! We shall prevail!"

X X X X X

Looking at the readings on her monitor, the lone Santovasku growled. Having been raised in an orphanage, she had heard of the story of the Santovasku's ancestral home world and how it had been destroyed. Then she had heard rumors that this planet was her people's ancestral home, which conflicted with the stories she'd heard as a child.

Living a rough life, she never gave it much thought, though she did hear those stories whenever she stopped by the orphanage to visit the younger children. Still, they were only fairy tales.

Eying the display though, she had to wonder if there as some merit to the 'fairy tales' that she'd dismissed.

"How's the ship?" the mechanoid asked the mechanic.

"She's doing alright," the horned alien replied. "What happened to the Princess, Gomez?"

The mechanoid shrugged, "That's up to Revi to decide. "How long until we get the ship up and running?"

"She's healing," the taller alien stated. "But she's going to need some time to gather some fuel before she can launch."

"How long?"

"Two or three light cycles to completely heal and two more before she's gathered enough fuel."

The mechanoid nodded. "The boss should be back before then," the artificial creature replied. "At least we don't have to worry about the brat princess anymore."

X X X X X

There was something about the caverns and tunnels that Birdy just couldn't put her finger on. Something about it was, well, familiar, yet not.

Slamming her fist against the chin of another masked warrior, the Galactic officer focused on more pressing matters.

Using her mighty muscles, she easily kicked through the feeble guard that another masked fighter hastily put up, shattering his forearm before connecting with his head, sending him flying as well.

"You know," Sagara stated as he slammed his palm into one of the attackers, "it'd probably be easier for you to leave one of your own opponents alive and for you to investigate or examine if you left one of them alive."

A light, knife edged chop to the back of one of the masked assailant's neck knocked the man out, freeing Sagara.

Though the scarred mercenary was a trained soldier, he had the least martial arts training of the group. Without his firearms he had proven to be the weakest link of the group in close combat. Still, Ranma did not want to leave the soldier behind as his Witchgun could prove to be very useful in the right situations. Unfortunately close combat and such was not the situation.

"Thank you," he said curtly as he swiftly bound the man up.

"Thanks for reminding me," the Alpha Cygni replied. As she spoke the rest of the party finished off the last of the attackers.

"Everyone alright?" Ranma asked as he beheaded an already dying warrior.

The boy trapped in a girl's body was definitely powerful, but he definitely could learn to be more merciful. Still, it was never a good idea to leave one's enemies behind.

Pulling the mask off of the unconscious fighter, she motioned to Sagara.

Nodding, the scarred soldier pulled out a chemical flare. Cracking it, he shook it quickly, allowing the fluids to interact.

As the glowing yellow-green light illuminated the chamber, Birdy scowled. "I knew it."

"What?" Keitaro asked as he wiped the blood off of his blade.

"Scan DNA," the officer ordered her personal AI.

"Scanning…"

"What?" Sagara repeated as the older boy approached them.

"If I'm right, these scouts are alien," Birdy stated.

Ranma eyed the dead body at his feet, 'Alien?'

'_Our kind call them 'Ravagers'_,' Hina stated.

'_Wait, you knew they were alien?'_

'_Why else would I insist that you kill each and every one of them?'_ the cursed blade replied. _'They have much more spiritual energy than an average human but they have shorter lives. Plus they're breed in vats just like thrulls because they're asexual.'_

"Scan complete," the AI announced. "Analysis complete."

"Just as I thought," the scantily clad alien said. "These scouts are Santovasku thrulls – an asexual species that the Santovasku created to be expendable shock troops."

Seta rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Kind of like the Jem'Hadar."

Keitaro looked at his aunt/cousin's former lover, "You're a trekie?"

"Wait," Kanako said, shaking her head, "if those are alien thrulls then why the hell are they down here?"

A sinking feeling seemed to fill Birdy's stomach. "There's much more to this than I anticipated."

Suddenly the roof above them began to shower them with rocks.

Ranma blinked, 'The Breaking Point!' "Everyone - find some cover!" he ordered as he grabbed the chemical flare from Sousuke. Throwing it hard at the ceiling, he was rewarded with the sight of it breaking against the hard stone, splashing the ceiling and illuminating the cavern with the light, yellow-green light.

"My, my," a familiar yet gruff voice greeted, "I'm surprised you noticed me. I must say, I was hoping to meet the boy who claimed to be my son, but I guess that Happosai and the others were just lying."

Ranma shook his head, standing tall even as he stood between the others and the voice. "He's mine."

# # # # #

"Shit!" Captain Furby exclaimed as he turned off the recording. "This isn't good."

"I had no idea that those readings were going to be interpreted this way," the science officer stated.

"What do we do now, sir?" the first mate asked.

"Contact Ensign Kazami," the fury alien ordered. "We're pulling out of here. I don't care what the Federation brass say – if the Santovasku fleet is on their way to blow up this planet, I'm not going to be standing in their way!"

X X X X X

Ranma eyed the man that passed for his father in this world. Though the shadows kept him from getting a good look at him, it was clear that this Genma Saotome was not the lazy bastard that his version had become.

"Looks like you haven't been slacking off," the bald girl stated.

"Who are you?" the scarred man asked.

"I'm Ranma Saotome," the boy trapped in a girl's body replied. "I had my consciousness trapped inside this body."

The muscular man eyed the scrawny girl.

"No, it's not because of the Neko-ken," Ranma replied. "But I need something you have to get my body back."

"And here I was thinking you were here for the girls," Genma smirked.

Ranma shook his head, "Don't."

"We're here to get Motoko and Ryoko back, as well as get it," the young Mithril agent stated.

"Yeah, but let me try things my way first," the young martial arts master countered. "This is something between martial artists."

Sheathing his swords, Ranma tossed his weapons at his cousin.

"You're going to need those," Genma taunted.

"Maybe," Ranma stated as he removed the cursed armor, "but the version of Musabetsu Katuto Ryo I learned from my old man is weaponless. We learn to use weapons so that we know how to fight against them. As good as I am with the swords, I'm better without them.

"Seta, Keitaro, make sure no one interferes," he ordered as he assumed a casual stance.

"This must be another one of Happosai's tricks," the powerful martial artist stated as he threw a vacuum blade at the assembled fighters.

Channeling ki into his hands, Ranma deflected the attack. "Actually, why don't you guys go find the girls? I'll keep my old man company."

"You think you can take me by yourself girl?" the other fighter scoffed.

Ranma smirked. "Of course I do."

X X X X X

"Sir," the officer at the com called out, "I can't reach officer Birdy."

"*#$%!" the commander exclaimed. "%#*^! Keep trying! The last thing I want to do is leave one of my agents on a planet that the Santovasku are about to destroy!"

X X X X X

Ukyo simply watched as Ranma easily batted away the deadly attack. As a student of the Yamasenken, she knew the limits of the school and even though she'd been defeated by Ranma before, she hadn't used any of the higher level attacks of the school.

"Actually," Ranma said as he eyed his father, "why don't you guys go find the girls? I'll keep my old man company."

Beside her, the others moved to comply. Really, it was the smart thing to do. In hostile territory and with the limited space in the cavern with two high level master martial artists, it wasn't a good idea to stay around.

X X X X X

"But what about the Princess?" the experienced ensign demanded as she eyed her commanding officer's image.

"I'm sorry, but I can't keep the ship in orbit!" Captain Furby shouted. "The Santovasku fleet is mobilizing and they're headed to this planet!"

"But"

"Not buts," the captain said, cutting her off, "there's nothing the Federation can do about it. Well, if they do, then this entire solar system is going to be largest battle field that the galaxy has ever seen."

"I… I understand," Hatsuho finally said, tearing her eyes from the display to the people she who were currently around her, "but I cannot leave. I have to stay and see this through."

The captain gulped. He knew she was stubborn, but this was outrageous. "Fine, but we're leaving. If you make it out of this somehow expect to be court-martialed."

X X X X X

"This way," the brunette suggested as the five fighters reached a forked passage, "that way leads towards a settlement, and if Genma is avoiding the scouts, he's going to try and stay away from the settlements."

Seta nodded. As the oldest and arguably most experienced of the remaining fighters, it had fallen on his shoulders to lead the group as they searched for Motoko and Ryoko. Trusting in Keitaro and Ukyo's knowledge of the Underground, he kept a mental map of the passageways that they had taken since leaving Ranma to face Genma Saotome.

"We've got company," Sagara called out from the rear.

Keitaro turned around, spotting the dark masses moving in the shadows some fifty meters down the other passageway.

"There's another small cavern another thirty meters up," Ukyo suggested.

"Go!" Seta ordered. "Sagara!"

"Yes!" the soldier replied as he pulled out the Witchgun. With Ranma fighting Genma not too far way, he knew that they could not afford to have their fight interrupted. Drawing out a magic circle, the scarred boy shot at the clawed thrulls. The powerful blast echoed in the passageway, signaling to Ranma that they had encountered more fighters while also forcing the pursuers to pause as they had experience with guns. But the shot did more than just slow the pursuers down. Even though none of the fighters were hit, the blast knocked out a chunk of the wall. A towering stone golem emerged from the wall, startling the thrulls.

"You've got a Witchgun!" Birdy exclaimed.

Sagara nodded as he unloaded another shot. "How do you know about the Witchgun?"

"Santovasku officers use them," the alien stated. "I've never seen that model before as most use smaller arms, but that's definitely a Witchgun."

Sousuke filed that information away as he unloaded another magic bullet, creating a fiery dragon to aid the two stone golems. "That should keep them occupied."

X X X X X

"We're under attack!" the mechanoid known as Gomez shouted as a missile exploded against the ship's organic-metal hull.

"#%&*!" the engineer exclaimed. "The ship doesn't have any weapons that can be used while its grounded."

"Stay calm," the slender woman ordered. Though she was not on hand to witness the assault on her ship, she knew that none of the weapons that the humans had developed were capable of penetrating the hull of the organic Santovasku ship. Still, other pirates could have hidden themselves on this backwater planet, but who and why would they be attacking the ship directly and not the crew individually? "Gomez, mobilize your brethren – arm them with the laser rifles for now. But if the fighting gets serious then use the sonic cannons."

"Yes ma'am," the loyal mechanoid replied before cutting off the transmission.

"Problems?" a smooth voice asked, prompting the woman to turn around.

"Some," the criminal mastermind replied. "But we've concluded our business here, so I shall be returning to my ship."

"Do you need an escort?" the blond alien asked.

For a moment the woman considered her companion. The horns and lack of body hair immediately marked him as a Santovasku, just like her ship's engineer. Clearly he wasn't the only Santovasku on the planet, not if he had access to a vat to create a small but dependable number of thrulls. Could he have been interested in her ship?

"No," she finally replied, "that is not necessary. My men should be enough to handle anything that happens in the Underground."

Nodding, the President of the Underground smiled. "It's always a pleasure to do business with you."

Christella returned the fake smile, "Always a pleasure. We'll leave once my men are done unloading the package."

X X X X X

"Ma'am," the helms man said, "there appears to be some fighting just outside of Tokyo."

Tessa immediately looked up, "Get me eyes on the fighting."

X X X X X

As much as he hated to admit it, Genma Saotome was impressed. This wisp of a girl before him had lasted much longer than he'd expected. Only master Happosai had lasted longer, and that was a decade ago. Still, that didn't mean that the girl was who she claimed to be.

Leaping in, the experienced fighter lead with a swift flying middle kick only to have it answered with a middle kick of her own as she blocked and countered his attack with a follow up spinning back kick with her left. Shifting his leg, Genma forced the girl's aim off just enough so that her kick sailed a few centimeters short of his face. Thrusting up with his Iron Fan Fingers, he was surprised when the girl twisted around, grabbing his hand and countered with another spinning back kick with his right.

A flick of his wrist though was all he needed to free himself of the girl's hold and attack as he sent her flying. Still, the girl managed to spin in the air before her feet made contact with the wall. Springing off the wall, she adopted a casual stance again.

"You're pretty good," the muscular man stated.

"I've been training since I could walk," the girl replied. "Even though this isn't my original body, I've always been a quick learner and adapted easily to things."

"But your body is weak," Genma stated as he rushed in for another pass. A stiff straight left thrust with his Iron Fingers was easily dodged by the girl as she stepped back, kicking dirt at him as she retreated. It was a cheap trick, but in the near darkness of the cavern it would do little but annoy and irritate the large fighter as he pulled back just enough to avoid the dirt screen. Spitting out several poisoned needles in a spray pattern, he was surprised when the girl rolled out of the way of the surprise attack.

"I've been weaker," the girl smirked as she regained her feet. "But nothing that's happened to me has kept me down. Anything Goes after all."

Genma nodded, "Anything Goes."

X X X X X

"Go ahead," Sagara shouted as he unloaded another shot into the wall several paces ahead of the pursuing thrulls, "I'll slow them down."

Seta glanced at the professional before him. "Birdy, assist him. We're going to go ahead and try to find the girls."

The alien with two toned hair nodded, cracking her knuckles. She'd show these thrulls what a true Alpha Cygni was capable of.

X X X X X

"Sir," the young junior agent said, announcing himself to the President. Feeling the powerful man's eyes finally glancing over at him, the agent looked up. "There are reports of fighting in the Sector Six."

"They've found the intruder?" the horned man asked.

"They've found more intruders."

The horned alien scowled. That was where Christella was headed. Had her pursuers followed her into the underground? "Send out six more agents and their squads, and have all other agents report for duty. I want Central locked down."

X X X X X

"We've got company!" Ukyo shouted as she unsheathed one of the many katanas that Keitaro had brought with him. Though Ranma had given both of his blades over to the older boy, Keitaro had decided to leave them in the cavern where the two Saotomes fought. Favoring the Kusanagi, the Todai student had more than enough to spare, having brought four more blades (one for Birdy, Ukyo, Motoko, and Ryoko). Unfortunately the alien fighter didn't know how to use the elegant blade, leaving a free blade for anyone who wanted it. Even though she was a practitioner of the Yamasenken, Ukyo knew that she lacked the energy and endurance to be as proficient at it as her late lover had been. Still, she could use some of the moves, but fighting with the katana also helped.

Parrying a wicked slash from one of the scouts, she deftly cut the fighter with her blade, leaving a bloody trail along his chest. The wound was more than enough of an opening for her to slide her Iron Fingers into the man's chest and heart, ending his short life.

"Keitaro," Seta shouted, "take Kanako and search further ahead. We'll hold them in this cavern."

The young martial artist eyed the older man, still unsure if leaving them behind was the right thing to do.

"Go!" Ukyo urged as she looped off the arm of another fighter. "It's too small in here for all of us to fight."

She knew she was right, and she knew that he knew she was right. Still, that didn't make it any easier for him.

"Fine," he said as he rushed to the other end of the cavern, "but we'll be right back."

X X X X X

'_Twenty minutes_,' Sagara thought as he felt the sharp claws of his opponent rake his chest. Enduring the hit, he slammed his steely fist into his attacker's face. The feel of several teeth being dislodged and of breaking bone told him that that fighter would not be rejoining the fight anytime soon.

Behind him Birdy caught her assailant's punch in her palm. Using her inhuman strength she crushed his hand before ripping his arm out of its socket and driving her point across with a vicious head butt that knocked the fighter out.

"I'm impressed," a cocky voice called out even as it waved back the other fighters. "No wonder you've caused so much trouble for us. But I promise you, you won't make it out of here alive."

"I've heard that before," the scarred soldier replied.

"I'm sure you have," the cloaked man nodded. "But you've never fought someone like us before."

"There are twenty of us, and only the two of you," a feminine voice stated. "Do you really think we'd let you join up with your friends again?"

"You surface dwellers have no idea how much worse this is going to be for you," the man said. "Just tell us why you're down here and we'll consider killing you quickly."

"I've heard that before too," Birdy replied as he contemplated their position. Trapped between two squads, there was no way they'd get out of the cavern without a fight. Still, none of them had moved towards Ranma's location. Grabbing the unconscious man at her feet, she threw him at the cloaked man.

A blast of blinding light filled the cavern, incinerating the thrull and leaving only ashes behind.

"Ah, I was wondering why the scouts' claws weren't affecting you," the green haired woman stated as she eyed Sousuke. "You must be one of those rare Steel types. I know that Earth types can fortify their bodies with rocks and stone, but to actually turn your skin into metal, now that is interesting. Perhaps we'll keep you alive so that you can pass down your special skills."

"I wonder," the cloaked man said as the flames overhead died down, "if my flames would be enough to melt your skin."

"Oh, but I so wanted to try my ice against him," the woman pouted.

Birdy blinked. "Hey! I'm not chopped liver you know!"

"Well, maybe you aren't," the girl replied, "not yet at least."

Pale blue light filled the green haired girl's hands as she leapt towards Sousuke, "I wonder how cold you'll have to get before you break?"

Seeing that the girl was committed to her attack, Sagara quickly pulled out the Witchgun. A quick shot from the powerful weapon filled the entire cavern with its thundering boom. Even without a magic circle the gun was fearsome as the bullet it propelled at the girl was unavoidable despite the fact that she'd hastily created an icy shield. Suddenly the room was filled with blood and ice as the heavy bullet destroyed the shield and its creator before sending her now limp body crashing into the wall.

"Rumina!" the cloaked man screamed as several scouts rushed Sousuke. "You killed my sister!"

Unable to reload the Witchgun, the Mithril agent pulled out a sawed off shotgun, firing both rounds quickly and expertly at the two closest clawed scouts, stopping their forward momentum and sending them flying into their companions.

Seizing the opportunity, Birdy rushed in, connecting with a powerful haymaker to the cheek of the third assailant.

"Bastards!" the cloaked man shouted. Overhead a giant ball of yellow and orange flames grew.

A thundering boom again filled the cavern as Sousuke took another shot with the magical gun, this time sending the cloaked fire wielder crashing into the unforgiving wall. Overhead the fireball slowly descended, crashing into the remaining thrulls and immolating them.

"You know," Birdy said as she eyed the thrashing bodies of the unfortunate thrulls, "that was kinda anti-climatic."

X X X X X

The sound of two thundering shots rang in Seta's ears as he slammed the black iron staff into the stomach of a masked thrull. With just a simple thought he extended the staff, sending the end crashing into boulder the size of his head, deflecting the projectile away from the perky brunette beside him.

"Thanks," Ukyo grunted as she hamstrung a fighter. Grabbing the crippled fighter, she used him as a human shield against the powerful water blast that was thrown her way.

Using the staff, Seta batted aside several more rocky projectiles. Forced to defend, he eyed the young boy that was directing the assault. Judging from the way that the two elemental users attacked, it was clear that neither one could maintain a constant offensive, relying instead on their thrulls to distract their targets as they prepared their attacks. Still, with nearly a third of the two dozen fighters already dead, it was clear that the pair of children were going to have to change their tactics.

A rumbling from overhead though told the experienced Mithril agent that they'd already put their next plan into motion.

Grabbing hold of Ukyo's waist the tall man planted the end of his staff into the ground, willing it to extend.

"Did you think we wouldn't have anticipated that?" the water manipulating woman asked. "By combining water and earth under your feet, we've trapped you. There's nothing you can do to get out!"

Unable to get any solid footing, Seta extended both ends of the staff, hoping to find some purchase below while also deflecting the larger boulders that were crashing down on them.

Stabbing her sword into the ground, Ukyo began to swat the boulders that made it past Seta's staff, her Iron Fingers sorely tested by the hard boulders.

A thunderous blast echoed through the cavern mere seconds before a powerful bullet knocked the water user off her feet.

"Janus!" the boy shouted as his partner hit the floor hard.

His focus broken, the ceiling began to crumble without his control. "Retreat!" the boy ordered.

Another booming blast filled the cavern, this time the bullet hit the floor beneath Seta. A giant stone hand emerged, solidifying the floor even as it reached up to support the crumbling ceiling.

With solid footing beneath him, Seta pushed himself and Ukyo out of the make-shift quicksand.

"They're gone," Birdy stated as she rushed to where the pair landed.

"They'll probably get some more help," Sousuke added as he aimed for the entrance. "But this should keep them from coming back too soon."

Drawing a magic circle, he leveled his weapon at the entrance that their attackers had fled through. Blasting the ceiling above it, he blocked the passage as the cavern collapsed.

Seta nodded, grateful that they hadn't killed the young earth user. "Lets go, Keitaro and Kanako shouldn't be too far ahead."

X X X X X

"I've got eyes on the fighting!" the helmsman stated. "Putting it on the main monitor."

Everyone who wasn't doing something turned their attention to the giant monitor.

"Arm Slaves?" someone exclaimed.

"Those are Leonard's unmanned, miniature Arm Slaves," Tessa stated.

"But what are those?" the gruff Englishman asked. "They're about as big as a man, yet they're holding their own against the Mini-AS."

A streak of red suddenly impacted an Arm Slave, cutting it in half.

"Lasers?" Tessa exclaimed. "Send SRT 2 with as much support as we can get them."

"But SRT 2 is watching over the Hinata Sou," Mardukas replied.

Tessa nodded. "But they're the closest squad we have to the fighting. Send them all available air support."

X X X X X

Ranma eyed his old man, well, this world's version of his old man. He was very different from the man he knew. Driven mad by the loss of his son and hardened by a life of crime, the man was definitely not soft. Muscles rippled with unspoken power, yet the man was deceptively fast. True, Ranma was faster, even in his handicapped body, but just barely. This Genma was much more formidable than his old man. Though he'd been confined for so many years he'd continued to hone his body and art in secret, something his father had not done.

Ranma panted as he eyed the powerful martial artist before him. _'He's tough – tougher than Taro and stronger too. But he fights like Happosai and Cologne combined.'_

Dodging another series of Iron Finger thrusts, Ranma slapped at the man's wrists, countering with pressure point attacks to the nerve clusters on his hand and wrist. Against any other fighter that counter might have worked, but Genma managed to twist his wrists just enough to keep the pinpoint attacks from connecting correctly.

Still, the counter was enough to force Genma to abort his assault.

"Impressive," he stated as he shook his hands, checking them for any lingering damage from the nearly precise attacks. "You know pressure points."

The boy trapped in a girl's body nodded. "So do you."

Again Genma rushed in, leading with a series of Iron Finger thrusts.

Though Ranma knew that he was faster, he had little room to work with. Parrying the first three attacks, he felt his opponent's powerful fingers wrap around his wrist as he parried a fourth strike. Hitting a pressure point on Genma's wrist he freed his hand, allowing his opponent to connect with a kick to his stomach.

Rolling, he caught a punch, then countered with a kick to Genma's muscled stomach even as he fell back, a modified version of the Shichuu Rakuchi Sei to change their positions. Still, Genma had created the Umisenken, thus he spotted the modified attack and knew of the subsequent follow up attack. Pulling his fist free of Ranma's hand, the larger fighter rolled to his side, preventing the smaller fighter from capturing his back and unleasing several Haku Dato Shin Shou to his back.

"Not bad," he admitted as the sickly girl backed off. "So you do know some of the Umisenken."

Charging in, the big man threw a straight right.

Ranma countered with Happosai's favorite move, stealing the momentum of the attack and throwing his attacker against the ceiling. The sound of flesh impacting against hard stone filled the cavern.

Rattled, but far from knocked out, Genma managed to grab hold of the ceiling before kicking off and landing several meters away from the younger fighter.

"That's Happosai's favorite counter," he stated. "You should have impaled me on the stalactite."

Rubbing his shoulder, the experienced fighter rushed in.

Again the air between them was filled with motion that most would have been hard pressed to follow. Swift strikes and counter strikes, feints and parries filled the air between them as they fought. This was the essence of the Saotome Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū.

Ranma blocked a knee with his foot, stealing the force of the attack to connect with a kick to Genma's mighty chest. "You're not bad," he stated. "Seeing what you turned out to be, I wish my old man hadn't slouched off. If he was more like you I'd still be able to get a good spar in every morning instead of waiting for one of my rivals to challenge me."

Genma simply eyed the girl as he landed on his feet several paces away. "You're still sticking to that story?"

"Because it's the truth," Ranma growled as he charged. Kicking several rocks at Genma, he watched as his opponent side stepped the barrage. Tucking his arms to his side, the cursed martial artist unleashed a barrage of lightning quick Haku Dato Shin Shou.

The large man made the mistake of blocking the first strike even as he set up a counter. The sudden loss of muscle control in his hand told him that something was wrong, prompting him to pull back. Avoiding the second and third strikes, he slammed his elbow into Ranma's stomach, allowing him to roll to the side as he put some distance between them.

The feel of hot blood on his arm though told him what he needed to know. "Cord cutting," he grumbled as he recalled how Ranma had curled his finger and thumb the moment before the block had been made. "I'd never teach you something like that."

"You wouldn't," Ranma replied. "Up until a few months ago I never had taken a life – never crippled or maimed an opponent. But recent events have forced me to become more ruthless. I don't like what I've had to do, but if it means I get to go home and no one I care about gets hurt, I'll do it."

"Ranma!" a familiar voice shouted.

"Ranma!" several voices shouted.

Genma eyed the nine figures. "So you've gotten your girls back," he growled.

"I want the Frozen Flame," the sickly girl stated. "The artifact you stole from Happosai."

The powerful fighter stood tall, relaxing as he reached into stuff/hammer space. Pulling out a bundle of cloth, he threw it at Ranma. "I suppose you've earned this."

Ranma deftly caught the bundle. In the split second that it took him to catch it, Genma was gone.

"Let him go," he stated. "We got what we came for."

"But what about your weapons?" Keitaro asked.

Ranma blinked. "I gave them to you."

"And I left them over there," his cousin replied.

Ranma looked at the entrance where his cousin pointed. "Dammit! He took the cursed weapons!"

X X X X X

A/N

Tokyo Underground is a relatively good anime/manga. The premise is that there are humans who live far beneath Tokyo (thus the name). Many possess special abilities and are able to manipulate certain elements.

Yes, I've obviously altered the story to fit into this mega crossover fic. If you're familiar with Tokyo Underground, you'll know what I'm talking about and you might have an idea about where I'll take one of the arcs of this fic.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	24. Chapter 24

Author's Notes –

I guess it's time for more disclaimers.

I do not own the rights to Ranma ½, Love Hina, Negima, Bio Booster Armor Guyver, Witchblade, Kurohime, Outlanders, Please Teacher, Chrono Cross, or anything else for that matter. This is simply a work of Fanfiction made for the primary intent of my enjoyment and the secondary intent of pleasing those who enjoy a good, creative story that happens to combine elements of the previously mentioned titles and properties.

Author's Notes –

This is the edited chapter. I didn't realize when I originally posted it that the end of Chapter 23 was cut off due to length, so I've added it to this chapter and reposted it.

Please Read and Review.

* * *

The sound of two thundering shots rang in Seta's ears as he slammed the black iron staff into the stomach of a masked thrull. With just a simple thought he extended the staff, sending the end crashing into boulder the size of his head, deflecting the projectile away from the perky brunette beside him.

"Thanks," Ukyo grunted as she hamstrung a fighter. Grabbing the crippled fighter, she used him as a human shield against the powerful water blast that was thrown her way.

Using the staff, Seta batted aside several more rocky projectiles. Forced to defend, he eyed the young boy that was directing the assault. Judging from the way that the two elemental users attacked, it was clear that neither one could maintain a constant offensive, relying instead on their thrulls to distract their targets as they prepared their attacks. Still, with nearly a third of the two dozen fighters already dead, it was clear that the pair of children were going to have to change their tactics.

A rumbling from overhead though told the experienced Mithril agent that they'd already put their next plan into motion.

Grabbing hold of Ukyo's waist the tall man planted the end of his staff into the ground, willing it to extend.

"Did you think we wouldn't have anticipated that?" the water manipulating woman asked. "By combining water and earth under your feet, we've trapped you. There's nothing you can do to get out!"

Unable to get any solid footing, Seta extended both ends of the staff, hoping to find some purchase below while also deflecting the larger boulders that were crashing down on them.

Stabbing her sword into the ground, Ukyo began to swat the boulders that made it past Seta's staff, her Iron Fingers sorely tested by the hard boulders.

A thunderous blast echoed through the cavern mere seconds before a powerful bullet knocked the water user off her feet.

"Janus!" the boy shouted as his partner hit the floor hard.

His focus broken, the ceiling began to crumble without his control. "Retreat!" the boy ordered.

Another booming blast filled the cavern, this time the bullet hit the floor beneath Seta. A giant stone hand emerged, solidifying the floor even as it reached up to support the crumbling ceiling.

With solid footing beneath him, Seta pushed himself and Ukyo out of the make-shift quicksand.

"They're gone," Birdy stated as she rushed to where the pair landed.

"They'll probably get some more help," Sousuke added as he aimed for the entrance. "But this should keep them from coming back too soon."

Drawing a magic circle, he leveled his weapon at the entrance that their attackers had fled through. Blasting the ceiling above it, he blocked the passage as the cavern collapsed.

Seta nodded, grateful that they hadn't killed the young earth user. "Lets go, Keitaro and Kanako shouldn't be too far ahead."

* * *

"I've got eyes on the fighting!" the helmsman stated. "Putting it on the main monitor."

Everyone who wasn't doing something turned their attention to the giant monitor.

"Arm Slaves?" someone exclaimed.

"Those are Leonard's unmanned, miniature Arm Slaves," Tessa stated.

"But what are those?" the gruff Englishman asked. "They're about as big as a man, yet they're holding their own against the Mini-AS."

A streak of red suddenly impacted an Arm Slave, cutting it in half.

"Lasers?" Tessa exclaimed. "Send SRT 2 with as much support as we can get them."

"But SRT 2 is watching over the Hinata Sou," Mardukas replied.

Tessa nodded. "But they're the closest squad we have to the fighting. Send them all available air support."

* * *

Ranma eyed his old man, well, this world's version of his old man. He was very different from the man he knew. Driven mad by the loss of his son and hardened by a life of crime, the man was definitely not soft. Muscles rippled with unspoken power, yet the man was deceptively fast. True, Ranma was faster, even in his handicapped body, but just barely. This Genma was much more formidable than his old man. Though he'd been confined for so many years he'd continued to hone his body and art in secret, something his father had not done.

Ranma panted as he eyed the powerful martial artist before him. 'He's tough – tougher than Taro and stronger too. But he fights like Happosai and Cologne combined.'

Dodging another series of Iron Finger thrusts, Ranma slapped at the man's wrists, countering with pressure point attacks to the nerve clusters on his hand and wrist. Against any other fighter that counter might have worked, but Genma managed to twist his wrists just enough to keep the pinpoint attacks from connecting correctly.

Still, the counter was enough to force Genma to abort his assault.

"Impressive," he stated as he shook his hands, checking them for any lingering damage from the nearly precise attacks. "You know pressure points."

The boy trapped in a girl's body nodded. "So do you."

Again Genma rushed in, leading with a series of Iron Finger thrusts.

Though Ranma knew that he was faster, he had little room to work with. Parrying the first three attacks, he felt his opponent's powerful fingers wrap around his wrist as he parried a fourth strike. Hitting a pressure point on Genma's wrist he freed his hand, allowing his opponent to connect with a kick to his stomach.

Rolling, he caught a punch, then countered with a kick to Genma's muscled stomach even as he fell back, a modified version of the Shichuu Rakuchi Sei to change their positions. Still, Genma had created the Umisenken, thus he spotted the modified attack and knew of the subsequent follow up attack. Pulling his fist free of Ranma's hand, the larger fighter rolled to his side, preventing the smaller fighter from capturing his back and unleasing several Haku Dato Shin Shou to his back.

"Not bad," he admitted as the sickly girl backed off. "So you do know some of the Umisenken."

Charging in, the big man threw a straight right.

Ranma countered with Happosai's favorite move, stealing the momentum of the attack and throwing his attacker against the ceiling. The sound of flesh impacting against hard stone filled the cavern.

Rattled, but far from knocked out, Genma managed to grab hold of the ceiling before kicking off and landing several meters away from the younger fighter.

"That's Happosai's favorite counter," he stated. "You should have impaled me on the stalactite."

Rubbing his shoulder, the experienced fighter rushed in.

Again the air between them was filled with motion that most would have been hard pressed to follow. Swift strikes and counter strikes, feints and parries filled the air between them as they fought. This was the essence of the Saotome Musabetsu Kakutô Ryû.

Ranma blocked a knee with his foot, stealing the force of the attack to connect with a kick to Genma's mighty chest. "You're not bad," he stated. "Seeing what you turned out to be, I wish my old man hadn't slouched off. If he was more like you I'd still be able to get a good spar in every morning instead of waiting for one of my rivals to challenge me."

Genma simply eyed the girl as he landed on his feet several paces away. "You're still sticking to that story?"

"Because it's the truth," Ranma growled as he charged. Kicking several rocks at Genma, he watched as his opponent side stepped the barrage. Tucking his arms to his side, the cursed martial artist unleashed a barrage of lightning quick Haku Dato Shin Shou.

The large man made the mistake of blocking the first strike even as he set up a counter. The sudden loss of muscle control in his hand told him that something was wrong, prompting him to pull back. Avoiding the second and third strikes, he slammed his elbow into Ranma's stomach, allowing him to roll to the side as he put some distance between them.

The feel of hot blood on his arm though told him what he needed to know. "Cord cutting," he grumbled as he recalled how Ranma had curled his finger and thumb the moment before the block had been made. "I'd never teach you something like that."

"You wouldn't," Ranma replied. "Up until a few months ago I never had taken a life – never crippled or maimed an opponent. But recent events have forced me to become more ruthless. I don't like what I've had to do, but if it means I get to go home and no one I care about gets hurt, I'll do it."

"Ranma!" a familiar voice shouted.

"Ranma!" several voices shouted.

Genma eyed the nine figures. "So you've gotten your girls back," he growled.

"I want the Frozen Flame," the sickly girl stated. "The artifact you stole from Happosai."

The powerful fighter stood tall, relaxing as he reached into stuff/hammer space. Pulling out a bundle of cloth, he threw it at Ranma. "I suppose you've earned this."

Ranma deftly caught the bundle. In the split second that it took him to catch it, Genma was gone.

"Let him go," he stated. "We got what we came for."

"But what about your weapons?" Keitaro asked.

Ranma blinked. "I gave them to you."

"And I left them over there," his cousin replied.

Ranma looked at the entrance where his cousin pointed. "Dammit! He took the cursed weapons!"

* * *

"Sir," the short old woman said, announcing her presence to her superior.

"Hinata," the seated man replied. "I want you to mobilize your best stealth squad."

"You want us to follow Leonard's boys once they turn tail," the woman finished.

"Yes."

"He has superior numbers, but not firepower," Hinata noted as she glanced at the monitor. "You're certain that he won't be successful?"

"If he deploys more of his forces and appears to be capable of taking the ship than I want your forces to take that ship from both him and its owners." Glancing at his subordinate he nodded, "But if his forces flee, I want you to follow them back to his base. If possible I want you to pick up on the frequency that he's using and triangulate the position of his base.

The wise veteran nodded, "As you command."

* * *

Looking down at his hands, Ranma smiled. He could feel the power that coursed through every fiber of his being. Though he'd only been trapped in the other body for just over a week, he'd dearly missed it. In the short time since his fight with his father he'd come to realize just how much more powerful his true body was compared to Sophia's frail body. Even with the experimental suit that Su had given him Sophia's body failed to measure up to his real one. Regaining his body more than made up for the loss of the cursed weapons.

Feeling the strength of his trusty body as he moved his body… his body, he smiled. Yes, it was well worth everything that he'd endured to get this body back.

Only the sudden splash of cold water broke him from his reverie.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he shouted, noting the change in his voice. "Aw shit!"

"I guess you do have your old body back," Keitaro shrugged. "Curse and all."

"Um," Ryoko interjected, "what just happened?"

"I thought she knew about your curse?" the woman with two toned hair cut in.

"She knew about the curse," the tall man with the staff replied, "but she didn't know about him getting trapped in another body."

The slender kendoka beside the redhead simply blinked. Opening her mouth, she found that she couldn't find the right words to use. Closing her mouth, she simply stood there, unsure of what to do.

"I think we should go," the brunette girl suggested.

The sound of a gun being fired drove the point home as the scarred soldier shot the wall of the cavern, creating a giant stone golem. "Yes, I think now would be an appropriate time for us to withdraw."

* * *

The darkness of the country night always comforted him. Leo Biederman was glad he lived in the countryside, not only was the country sky clearer as a result of less light pollution, it also kept all those annoying idiots, well, not all, but most. It didn't help that he was a scrawny teenager and that he loved astronomy, but the fact that there had been a fictional character that shared his name made things all the worse for him. True, he did enjoy looking up at the stars with his telescope, but it wasn't because he loved space, it was because he positively knew that humans were not the only sentient creatures in the universe.

Every night the scrawny youth would hike two miles in the dark away from his family's house just so that he could comb the night sky without any interference. Tonight had started no differently.

"Soon," he said to himself as he gazed at his prize.

Smiling to himself, he put his eye to the lens.

"HOLYS*%^!"

Finding himself on the ground, young Leo gazed up at the sky. "I.. I didn't see that…"

Trembling, the young man stood up, approaching his telescope. "Buck mush have taped something onto the other lens," he said aloud, rationalizing what he just saw. Shaking his head, he checks the lens, wiping it clean before putting his eye to the other lens again.

"Oh God… HolyS*%^! Holy M*#$&ing S*%^!"

* * *

"You're sure about this?" the raven haired mage asked as he eyed the alien woman.

Nodding soberly, Hatsuho sighed.

"We were all there when her captain announced it," Hinata stated. "This is bad news indeed."

"How long will it take their fleet to get here?" the scruffy blond mage asked.

"Just over one week," the magenta haired alien answered. "Probably less if they're rushing to mobilize their fleet."

"And when should Ranma and the others be able to jump back?" Tsuruko asked as she turned towards the normally energetic blond.

"Um," Su replied, her mouth full of banana, "30 hours at least."

"Enshin! Takahata!" a new voice shouted.

Everyone turned to the new voice. A young girl, no more than 10 years old appeared at the doorway.

"Setsuna," the two Shinmeiryu exclaimed.

"Mistress, Master, Takahata-sensei," the young swordswoman bowed. "The Dean wishes you return immediately to Mahora."

* * *

A cool, humid breeze filled the dark chamber. Blinking, the figure forced his consciousness to the surface.

"So, you're awake," a squeaky voice greeted. "Don't speak yet, your body is still adapting. Let me get your grandfather."

The young man could do little but blink as he tried to locate the speaker. Straining his ears, he realized that he was actually submerged in some sort of liquid as it amplified the sound of the retreating man's steps.

A multitude of thoughts ran through his mind, but one image seemed to be etched into his mind – a raven haired boy wearing a red silk Chinese style shirt and black pants.

* * *

"Sir," a uniformed man said as he presented a report to the robed man.

Accepting the report, the wizened figure eyed the report, dismissing the helmeted man.

"I believe I have perfected the body for our next Zoalord," the bearded man stated.

"Finally, we'll have twelve," the other man stated.

"Archanfel," the first exclaimed, "I did not realize you had awoken."

"And yet you were reporting the discovery of a possible candidate for Zoalord," the fair haired man stated. "But you are aware that I have been keeping track of things even though I had been slumbering for the past decade."

The taller man nodded.

"There are distant rumblings," the pointy eared man stated. "I have not felt anything like it since the Creators left. An ominous and ancient power awakens to the east."

"The Relic?"

"No Barcas, this is something different altogether," Archanfel replied. "It is something dangerous."

* * *

A loud, thunderous boom echoed through the tunnel, announcing what Sousuke Sagara could not voice.

"Man, how long are they going to keep chasing us?" Ranma grumbled as he glanced back at the party's rear guard as the scruffy youth reloaded his magic gun. Though he enjoyed the power of his original body, being stuck in his female form while wearing armor tailored to the other body was just annoying - it didn't help that his female form was significantly shorter than his boy form as well as being bustier than Sophia's body. _'Man, this suit's rubbing me the wrong way now.'_

"Probably until we're out of the sector," Ukyo stated. "They just want us away from any settlements. Though they could be after us to avenge the three Agents that Sousuke gunned down."

"That would explain why they tend to just engage him," Seta added.

"It's probably the scouts that were assigned to the Agents you killed," the brunette suggested. "If their agent is dead then they simply follow the last orders that their Agent."

"They are breed to be loyal," the resident alien supplied.

"Who is she?" Ryoko finally asked as she eyed the woman with two toned hair.

"An alien," Keitaro and Kanako replied.

The two kendoka simply eyed the Urashima heir.

"Seriously?" Motoko asked.

Ranma nodded.

"This just gets crazier by the second," the busty kendoka shrugged.

Behind them, Sousuke unloaded another deafening shot, this time at the ceiling, causing the tunnel to collapse, effectively blocking off their pursuers.

* * *

Ranma felt robbed. Having heard of how great a martial artist this world's Genma Saotome was and having seen and faced off against the muscled man, the cursed martial artist had been greatly disappointed in their fight. Sure, he'd gotten the girls back as well as received the Frozen Flame that Genma had possessed, but had he really won? After a half hour of trading punches, kicks, feints, parries, throws, and counters the fight had ended after Ranma had used a simple cord-cutting technique.

Looking back on it, the truth was that he hadn't won – he'd simply exchanged the girls and the Frozen Flame for Hina, Hannya and Kien. But at least he had his body back, even if he was currently in his cursed form.

"Ranma!" Keitaro exclaimed, breaking the sex changing boy from his thoughts.

"Yeah?" the younger martial artist replied.

"There are signs that there's someone up ahead," the Urashima heir stated. "They're heading in a different direction from where we came from, but it's pretty close to where we're headed. That tunnel leads to openings in the mountain behind the Hinata Sou."

With their pursuers still digging out the tunnel kilometers behind them, the party came to a stop, allowing Keitaro and Ukyo to check the passageway for any traps or other surprises that the other group may have left for them.

With her naturally light sensitive eyes, Birdy eyed the tracks on the ground. Curious, she pulled out her scanner, even as some of the others eyed her.

"She's really an alien?" Ryoko asked Kanako.

The lithe fighter nodded. "So she says."

"She looks human enough," the busty kendoka stated.

"And Ranma looks like a girl, but I wouldn't call him one," Seta countered.

Suddenly the scanner in the alien detective's hand started clicking.

"What's going on?" Sousuke asked as he noted the determined look in the alien's eyes.

"These tracks, they're Oculons'," the alien explained. "Oculons are a race of mechanoids, or artifical beings. Though they can take various forms or shapes, they use Oculium as their primary fuel source. The man I fought last week was an Oculon. Unfortunately he self-destructed rather than allow me to capture his CPU to download his memories."

Ranma quickly did the math, "So you think that the guys who made these tracks might be behind the princess' abduction?"

Motoko glanced at Kanako.

"Long story," the gothic girl answered.

Ryoko turned to face the lithe girl.

"I promised Birdy that I'd help her find the people who are responsible for the abduction of her people's princess," Ranma explained.

"Seta, you take the others back to the Hinata Sou. Birdy and I will investigate the guys ahead."

"But"

"No buts," Ranma said as he eyed the other passage. "Keitaro, lead them home, I'll let you know through Claire if I find anything."

"No," Seta said firmly. "We're in this together. Fate has brought us together to help you on whatever adventures you have."

Keitaro nodded.

"Keitaro, take the girls home," Ranma repeated. "They need some decent clothes and rest. We'll lead Sousuke's fans away from the Hinata Sou and check out the guys ahead of us."

"Two birds with one stone," Kanako nodded.

Ranma nodded. "Take Claire. If anything happens we'll let you know."

* * *

Leonard was not happy. He'd expected losses, but nothing like what he watched on the monitor. The small force that he'd left in Japan should have been enough to lay siege to Tokyo, yet they were being torn apart by the smaller defending forces that inhabited the desolate mountain forest. Yet it wasn't the fact that his forces were losing – it was the fact that they had superior firepower and technology that irked the young Whispered. Having developed and designed the mass produced miniature Arm Slaves and the weapons that they used, he had thought that they had enough firepower to level Tokyo. Yet the defenders, out numbered 10 to 1, were not intimidated by his cutting edge technology.

Watching several thousand kilometers away from Japan, the silver-grey haired youth could only scowl as another Arm Slave was cut down by what could only be described as a concussive blast of energy. The golden beam of energy ripped through the fortified titanium skin of the AS then knocked over a tree and blasted apart a three-ton boulder before hitting the ground and showering the area with debris.

Though his remaining forces in Japan had been reduced by nearly a half in a half hour, he was sure that they could still prevail. Despite their losses, they had managed to cut down nearly two thirds. Two hundred miniature Arm Slaves and their support units against thirty of the steel androids – those numbers had favored him, yet here he was with only sixty Arm Slaves remaining and perhaps all of their support units against only ten androids. Yes, the numbers still favored him by 10 to 1, but the losses were great.

Still, it was just a minor inconvenience. After all, now that he had the mysterious technology that the androids had been using as well as the ship that they were guarding he'd more than make up for the loss of an entire battalion of Arm Slaves.

* * *

The cool air with hints of pine told him that they weren't far from the surface. Unlike the tunnels that they had used to descend from the Hinata Tea House, these tunnels had been created in a giant spiraling stairwell. Each landing was at least three meters apart and one meter wide. Fortunately the gathered martial artists were able to traverse the passage easily, though the fact that those they pursued were doing so just as nimbly as they were did seem to discourage them slightly. Even Sousuke wasn't having problems with the passageway, though that was mostly due to the fact that he'd shot himself with a magic bullet that endowed him with wings.

Straining his ears, Ranma could make out seven distinct footsteps. "Seven," he signaled the others as he gently landed on another plateau. "I think they know we're following them."

Seta nodded.

It wasn't a surprise though, they had been following the other group for nearly an hour. The sound of Sousuke shooting the Witchgun probably had been a dead giveaway. Still, they were catching up.

A stiff breeze greeted them as they leapt to the next landing.

'_Smoke?'_ the pigtailed boy thought as he landed.

"Gunsmoke," the scarred soldier stated. "That's from an armor piercing round – probably an ASP.7."

The others glanced at him as he flew above them.

"It's one of the rifles that I equipped my Bonta-kun Arm Slaves with," he replied, completely unrepentant in the fact that he was so intimate with guns. "But there's something else."

"Burning pine," Seta supplied.

Sagara shook his head, "Something else – I can't put my finger on it."

"Santovaskian napalm," Birdy grunted as she leapt to the next landing, "they love using it against mechanoids as it doesn't affect any organic metals."

"Organic metals?" Kanako gasped as she chased after the other woman.

"Their ships are organic creatures," the alien explained. "Pretty hard to crack open too."

Ranma nodded as he and Sousuke led the group on.

The sound of heavy fighting and gunfire greeted them, growing louder and louder with each landing that they reached.

* * *

Hinata eyed the battle below with great interest. Though Leonard had appeared to be on the cusp of victory, the arrival of the six additional androids had changed things. The new androids were clearly better than the others that had initially appeared to defend the alien ship. The first defenders were stiff and mechanical while the new arrivals used unpredictable attack patterns and tactics.

Eyeing the red and black haired woman through her binoculars, it was clear to the grizzled veteran that that woman was in charge. Had Leonard attacked when she was onboard, Hinata was sure that the battle would never have been in doubt. No, even with her own forces primed for battle, Hinata knew that they would not prevail against the aliens. The mechanoids and remaining battle robots outclassed even Leonard's Arm Slaves. Perhaps if he had sent his Belial type Arm Slaves he would have won, but relying on the simple AI of the miniature Alastor types had been the deciding factor as the inhabitants of the ship had managed to scramble the unprotected unmanned Arm Slaves. Unable to think for themselves beyond their simple reactionary programming and not having the weapons necessary to deal with the durable defenders proved to be his undoing. Then again, it was hard to hide that many miniature Alastors, much less full sized Alastors or Belials, perhaps he wasn't in Japan after all.

"I've got the frequency," Haruka stated as she reported to her adopted mother. "It appears that he's not in Japan at all."

"I thought as much," Hinata replied. "We'll see if he tries to deploy any more units, though I doubt that he was able to hide any of his prized Belial types in the forest. Still, even with the current chaos, I doubt that the government or Mithril will take too much longer to get here."

"So they're really aliens?" the younger woman asked.

"They're our patrons," the shorter woman replied. "How do you think we've been able to create such cutting edge technology for so many years? It wasn't the Whispered and their Black Technology, though some of the advances are because they gave us a greater understanding of the alien tech we had been rewarded with. No, we've reverse engineered the technology our patrons gave us. The weapons that our Arm Slaves are equipped with are all alien, the only things really capable of damaging that ship and its defenders."

The brunette nodded. Though it boggled the mind, it really did make a lot of sense. "And they oppose the aliens that are manipulating Mithril," she stated rather than asked.

Hinata nodded. "There are many different alien races – most of them view us as being young and impressionable. And we are."

"So the stories of alien abductions?"

"Some are true," the older woman answered honestly, "but those were mostly done by rogue scientists of other non-humanoid species. Once our patrons and others like them realized that we were a sentient race they outlawed those experiments."

Haruka nodded, slowly accepting that she was much smaller and less significant that she had originally thought. Still… "Why?"

"Because if we don't help them, than their enemies are going to destroy us," the experienced veteran answered. "Their enemies used to be our neighbors, back when there were eleven planets in our solar system."

"Eleven?"

"Well, if you count Pluto as a planet."

Again Haruka nodded.

"That is a story for another time," Hinata said, concluding that discussion.

"Well, well, well," the old woman smirked. "It looks like my grand children are making an appearance. I wonder how this is going to end."

* * *

Ranma practically beamed with joy despite the carnage before him. Though the aliens they had pursued weren't technically enemies (not until Birdy confirmed that they were at least) he was sure that the miniature Alastor type Arm Slaves were definitely part of Leonard Testarossa's rogue faction of Amalgam. Though he did not carry the cursed weapons, their influence lingered, prompting him to rush into the heated battle.

"You!" Birdy shouted as she spotted the red and black haired alien woman. "You're Christella Revi! You must be behind the princess' abduction!"

The rogue Omega Cygni sighed. "She's not my princess," she replied as she pulled out a gun, "so why would I care about her?"

"But you were responsible for her abduction," the pigtailed boy shouted as he eyed the mechanoid that rushed at him.

"What if I am?" Christella asked as she took aim at the quicker Ranma.

His quick eyes spotted the deft motions of her feet as she swiftly drew a magic circle before firing the weapon. A loud, thundering boom filled the afternoon sky.

Ranma's instincts prompted him to leap back as the shot fell well short of him. But it wasn't the shot that concerned him, it was the giant stone hands that emerged.

"A Witchgun!" Birdy exclaimed. "But only the Santovasku can use those!"

Ranma eyed the woman in a new light. "That's not red hair," he stated as he noted the odd flow of her hair, "those are horns!"

"Hahaha," the hybrid alien laughed, "I'm the product of an illicit and illegal marriage between an Omega Cygni and a Santovasku. And I can use a Witchgun."

Leaping out of the way of the giant stone fist that descended on him, Ranma smirked. "I'm so going to enjoy kicking your ass!"

Rushing past the giant golem, he heard another powerful boom, this one from Sousuke. "I'll take care of the Arm Slaves!" he stated in his usual, even tone.

Birdy nodded as she dashed past the slow golem.

"We'll take care of the small fry," Seta declared as he extended his staff, smashing the head of the golem as he did so.

Kanako nodded as she used her ring to put out the fires and freeze the various mechanoids and Arm Slaves. "Find the Princess!"

Even Keitaro got into it as he cut down a mechanoid that had approached his adopted twin. "Go ahead!"

"Retreat!" Christella ordered as she loaded her Witchgun. Running cautiously it was clear to Ranma that she lacked the physical endurance of even Hatsuho.

"She's only capable of one shot at a time," Ranma noted as he evaded the punch from an Oculan, his counter kick to what he supposed was equivalent to the back of the knee broke the limb, folding it in half even as the mechanoid fell over.

Birdy simply smashed through one of the few unmanned Alastor Arm Slaves that had managed to make it this close to the alien ship. Ripping off the arm of the mecha, she used it to bat away one of the combat robots that had been deployed to protect the ship.

While Birdy favored brute force, Ranma was an elusive snake, slithering around and past his opponents and launching strikes that propelled him towards his ultimate target.

"Hey Leonard Nemoy!" he taunted as he looked directly into one of the Alastor type Arm Slave's camera. "I'm gonna be coming for you. Now that I got my real body back, there ain't a thing in this world that's gonna stop me from getting you and Sophia, ya bishonerd!"

A quick kick beheaded the steel titan, cutting off the visual feed that it sent to its creator.

Springing over the listless automaton, Ranma deftly dodged the angry golden beam that shot his way as the concussive force of the weapon knocked down the beheaded automaton. A sudden explosion rocked the side of the mountain as one of the rogue Amalgam soldiers shot a rocket propelled grenade at either Ranma or the Oculan that was shooting the strange energy gun.

"Gather all the guns you want," Ranma declared as he watched some of the surviving soldiers robbing the fallen aliens of their weapons, "just tell Leonard that I'm gonna come kick his ass too!"

None of the soldiers dared to get in his way as he rushed after the fleeing aliens. Parrying a punch from an unarmed Oculan, he pulled his other arm back for a quick counter. An iron fingered strike ripped through alien bio-metal as Ranma speared an Oculan with his hand. Using the unfortunate alien as a shield he threw the still struggling mechanoid on top of a grenade. Stepping on him, he hoped that the creature's tough skin would hold up even as the grenade exploded.

As he had hoped the explosion propelled him all the closer to his intended target even as it launched him into the air. Kicking off of the still alive alien, he sailed over the half Santovasku/half Omega Cygni. Twisting in the air he avoided several shots even as he threw a golden ball of ki at several attackers without bothering to announce his attack. This wasn't a duel or fight against another martial artist, and he had long ago mastered the technique to the point that he no longer needed to shout the name of the attack to help focus his ki.

Yes, he was enjoying the feel of his ki, his muscles, working within him as he planted his feet on the head of another Oculan, crushing the metal spine and head of the artificial creature as he did so. Spinning around as he landed, he wrapped his hand around the slender neck of the alien hybrid while the other gripped her hand, directing the barrel of her smaller Witchgun towards the sky.

"Going somewhere?" he asked, a hint of malice in his usually even voice.

He didn't know why, but he found himself slowly crushing her throat.

The alien woman's dark blue eyes filled with fear and panic as he brought his face closer to hers. Unable to get any air in or out of her lungs, all she could do was stare into his frenzied eyes.

'_Kill her,'_ Hina's voice echoed through his mind.

'_Add her power to yours,'_ Kien suggested.

"Order your men to stop fighting!" he growled, loosening his hold on her throat.

No longer held up by the powerful martial artist, the rogue alien scientist fell to the ground, grasping at her throat with her free hand. "Stand down," she muttered, "stand down."

* * *

"Impressive," Mr. Gold smirked as he watched the end of the fighting.

"Orders?" Hinata asked, her voice coming through crystal clear despite the fact that she was not in the commander's office.

"You have your orders," he stated. "Find Leonard, but keep an eye on the boy as well."

Hinata nodded. "Yes, sir."

* * *

"So the knave knows the Tendos, does he," the young man growled.

A well dressed man in a dark navy business suit nodded, "Remember, your grandfather wants him alive."

The youth grinned, "I'll bring him in alive – though he might be missing some limbs."

The other man simply pushed his sun glasses up, "That's fine."

* * *

A/N

I think I'll just leave things where they're at for now.

Please Read and Review.

Dreamingfox


	25. Chapter 25

Author's Notes –

Yes, after the long hiatus this fic is back on track. So much going on over the last year or so, but I'm slowly getting things back on track.

X X X X X

Few of the people who knew Ranma looked past his physical prowess. Considering his dedication to mastering various styles of martial arts, the pigtailed boy never took it as a slight against him. Few people ever gave him the credit that was due to him though as he was more than just a jock. Able to dissect, dismantle, and reproduce various techniques as well as to adapt them to various situations on the fly, the young master martial artist was far from stupid. Few understood the true depth of his unique intelligence though, often claiming that it was just luck or the stupidity of his opponents, but the truth was that Ranma thought best when fighting.

Having spent the past three hours in running fights with the strange thrulls and their handlers he was slowly getting used to the repetition of the Underground's fighters and their tactics of thrulls attacking and diverting attention while their elemental user. Even with several users their tactics didn't vary, though they often appeared to get in each other's way as they appeared to be unused to fighting with more than two teams at a time.

No longer having to compensate for his weaker body and having adjusted to the exo-suit that Su had created for him and all the others, the pigtailed fighter allowed his body to simply react to the fighting, allowing his mind to wander.

'_You know, this kinda feels like an RPG,' _he mused_. 'Me, the hero, and my loyal companions jumping from one quest to another without having time to really rest between the missions. The adventurers fighting hordes of minions until they find a clue to something or other that will help them defeat the boss of the mission/quest who in turn helps prepare us for our ultimate showdown with the big boss. All that's missing is some unexpected true boss that's been manipulating the other boss that I've been gunning for.'_

Clenching his fist, he felt the tendons and ligaments stretch while the other men allowed the soothing hot waters of the Hinata Sou's onsen to ease their tired muscles. Though his renewed body was perfectly capable of chasing after Leonard's vanishing forces, the others in his little squad weren't. The hard, destructive battle on the isolated mountain top and the run through the Underground had taken a lot out of the others

'_This is why the hero only has a handful of companions on each mission, gotta keep the others fresh for the next crisis.'_

Relaxed yet restless, the cursed martial artist returned to his room. He didn't know how long he'd paced the floor of his tiny room, but evidently it was still night as the pale moon could be seen from his window when a gentle knocking interrupted him.

"Ranma?" the nearly breathless woman called out to him from the other side of the thin sliding door. "It's me, Hatsuho; can I come in?"

"Ah, sure," he replied automatically.

The darkness of the hallway told him that it was late, though there was just enough light for his keen eyes to make out the alien's silhouette as she entered his room.

"I wanted to thank you," the explorer stated.

"Why?" he retorted. "It's not like we saved her."

"No, you didn't," she replied. "But thanks to you Birdy knows where to look for her."

"We still gotta get back down to the Underground, and we don't have a lot of time to work with," he growled. "But here I am, trying to rest but failing miserably."

"You're doing more than I am," the alien scout admitted as she settled closed the door behind herself.

"…" Words just weren't his forte. Perhaps that was why he'd had so many problems with Akane and the other girls. "So you can't sleep?" _'Why the hell did I ask her that?'_

"I'm used to a different time unit," she finally answered. "We also require less sleep than a typical human."

Accepting her information, Ranma found himself nodding. The feel of soft yet strong hands cupping his face should have startled him as the long hours of fighting had honed his senses and reflexes, yet rather than flinching and pulling away he allowed her to pull herself closer to him. For all the fighting and killing that he'd recently experienced he had not expected the alien woman to provide him with a moment of humanity and gentleness.

X X X X X

If there was one thing that Birdy Cephon Altera hated about her job it was the paperwork. Yes, the capture of the fugitive Gomez was a good thing, but the amount of paperwork involved with the report about the battle as well as the 'loss' of all the captured equipment had to be documented.

"For a Level 6 planet Earth sure is advanced," muttered the alien officer.

"It's because Humans, like many unadvanced species, possess many various factions," the bald man stated. "The promise of power, even power supplied by 'aliens', appears to be sufficient enough incentive to get them to use their newly acquired power to try and subvert the other factions."

The two-toned haired woman nodded.

"Honestly though, your report is…"

"Unbelievable?" Birdy suggested.

"Yes," the bald commander stated gruffly. "But I know that you're not capable of manipulating your recorder. The readings from your suit confirm everything though, even the body switching, gender-changing boy – impossible to believe as it is…

"Therefore, I am removing your limiter."

Startled, Birdy could only stand there as her commander's holographic projection glanced down at his display. "This, this isn't because I lost to Ranma, is it?"

The bald humanoid figure shook his head. "It's not uncommon for even an Alpha Cygni to lose in battle. The fact that he bested you is of no consequence to us. What does matter is that the other 'you' did die on this mission. It would be reckless of me to allow you to operate under the same restrictions as the 'you' that died."

Birdy nodded. The grim reminder sent a chill up her spine.

"What you should know is that the Santovasku have mobilized. Their fleet is on its way to Earth as we speak. In response the Cygni have begun to mobilize as well."

The young officer nodded. "I understand. If I can find the princess I should be able to avert another war." 'In this world and the other.'

"Off the record, I'm afraid that you might be under-equipped for this mission. I doubt that even your power suit and the equipment you've, um, lost, will not be enough. As you're aware, there are other species who are hiding their presence amongst the humans. There should be a Santorum not too far from you. He might be interested in some of the equipment you, um, lost. Just tell him Dust sent you."

X X X X X

The recent turn of events soured the elder's mood. Ranma's recent bloodlust as a result of his contract with the cursed blades and armor were understandable, but with those items gone Happosai couldn't help but wonder if the boy's psyche would be able to process everything. From what he'd heard of Ranma's life in the other world the boy had only killed once before. Since coming to this world though he'd killed the Kuno heir as well as countless Amalgam soldiers and Underground thrulls.

There was blood on Ranma's hands, but could he handle that burden? Or would he become a soulless killer with an insatiable bloodlust?

The signs pointed to the later. Though the others needed a moment to rest, Ranma appeared to want to press on. But was that simply masking his desire to kill more opponents?

Then there was the incident when he'd returned to his home dimension only to attack and seriously injure his rivals.

But what could he do?

X X X X X

The gentle glow of the approaching dawn filled the sky with a reddish hue as the storm clouds loomed in the horizon.

Fully rested, Ranma sat up, fully expecting to see a buxom alien sharing his futon. Though his sheets were slightly disturbed there was no sign of the violet-haired Alpha Cygni. _'Wait… was it a dream?'_

Dressing quickly and silently, he rushed down to the lounge.

"Morning," the ever cheerful Seta greeted as Sagara glanced up at him from stockpile of ammo.

"Morning," Ranma returned. Glancing around the room he eyed his companions as he pushed aside the strangely vivid dream he'd had.

The others stifled yawns, though a few actually yawned as they greeted him, leaving him with the distinct impression that they were still exhausted despite the night's rest they'd had.

"I've decided," he proclaimed, drawing all eyes onto him, "that it's best if only a three man team goes into the Underground."

The stunned looks from the others hadn't been completely unexpected. Yet mixed in was also a sense of relief.

"A three man team would probably work best," Seta seconded. "You'd be able to move faster, and we wouldn't be getting into each other's way as often as we did last night."

Ranma nodded.

"You're not leaving me behind," the young galactic officer insisted as she jumped to her feet. "The Princess' safety is my highest priority."

Again Ranma nodded. He'd known that Birdy had been a given, but that left only Ukyo. Though she wasn't the girl he knew and her skills weren't up to par with the Ukyo from his world, she'd proven more than capable during their last excursion into the Underground. "Ukyo, you used to live down there, and it's obvious that we'll have to go down further than anything that Keitaro's gone down."

"I understand," the brunette replied.

Though Kanako looked likely to object, the adopted Urashima opted to remain quiet. None of the others questioned the team selection, leaving Ranma to feel a bit better about his decision. "Sagara, work with Kaname and Hatsuho to inventory the weapons we captured from those aliens; as a Whispered she might have some insight on the weapons the aliens were using. Keitaro, try to find out what those other artifacts we recovered from Okinawa do. Seta, see if Mithril can help you secure that alien ship, I've got a feeling that either Granny or Sophia are going to try to get their hands on it."

"Sure," Seta smirked. "Leave it to us."

"Right," Ranma replied, extending his hand to the older man. "I'll do that. We should be back before tonight, but if we aren't, we'll let you know. We've only got a few communicators from the aliens, so we should be able to contact you if anything happens."

Strengthened by his resolve, the others nodded, accepting his orders. No longer was he merely chasing leads and reacting to circumstances; no, now he was leading them.

X X X X X

"He's no son of mine," proclaimed Genma Saotome. "It's impossible!"

Despite his most logical and emotive statements, Genma Saotome couldn't help but doubt himself. Years of solitary confinement in the secret prison known as Hades and his already fragile mind had led to his propensity to talk to himself as he tried to rationalize things.

'_You know the truth,'_ Hina him sent. _'The boy truly is the son of Genma Saotome, though he is not your son.'_

The addition of the two cursed blades and their voices didn't help his psyche; nor did the fact that the two blades seemed to have an intimate connection to the person who claimed to be Ranma Saotome.

'_The other Genma succeeded in raising a_ 'Man amongst Men',' taunted the blades, though which one had said what still baffled the master martial artist. '_But it wasn't thanks to him, it was thanks to Hinata Urashima. She managed to destroy the Omni-sphere in the other world and keep the bond between the spirit and this world intact, while in this world the Omni-sphere managed to sever that link_.'

"Resulting in a higher reliance on technology to compensate for the loss of spiritual energies," concluded Genma. "So what do I do?"

X X X X X

The long shadows of the dimly lit corridor danced, mimicking the figures that moved throughout the underground passage.

"We have the sacrifice," a masked man stated. "We need to perform the ritual now!"

"We can't, not yet!" hissed the robed man at the front of the procession. "The priests need to harness more mana before they can begin the ritual. If they tried to start it without enough power the spell would fail, leaving us without a sacrifice and the priests."

"But…" the masked man sputtered.

"If only we had the forces necessary to capture the dragon-ship," the horned man stated.

"What good is a mere dragon-ship to the Dragon God?" the robed man demanded as he spun around on his followers. "At best their ship would have allowed us off this planet, but that's only if we managed to avoid the damned Galactic Police and the stupid science vessel in orbit around this miserable rock!

"Besides, our goal isn't to just escape this rock, it's to destroy it. The Dragon God will give us the power to do so."

"But, what of those intruders?" the horned man protested.

"The ones who fled?" robed man asked. "What of them? They've fled; they're no concern to us. If the thrulls wish to pursue their master's killer let them, but tell the others that they are not to pursue anyone wishing to leave the Underground, only stop any who try to enter. We cannot allow anything to interfere with the ceremony."

# # # # #

"We have the sacrifice!"

A roar of cheers greeted the robed man's proclamation, reverberating off of the stone ceiling and walls as his followers celebrated the news.

"The time is nigh! We shall begin the ceremony!"

Silence greeted his words as those gathered immediately took up their tools and weapons in preparation for the sacred ritual.

"All will be ready soon," the robed man smirked as he looked down at the tiny bundle in his arms. "Before the day is done you shall die a glorious death, all for the sake of our master."

# # # # #

Silence filled the Dean's office as the gathered teachers and staff met. The fact that nearly all of the magical staff had been summoned to should have cued the scruffy blond mage to the fact that something extraordinary had happened, but then again, given the fact that had currently been dealing with someone traveling between parallel dimensions/universes, Takamichi Takahata wasn't surprised to see them all gathered. As one of the Dean's most trusted teachers it fell on him to explain the odd circumstances to his peers.

"Thank you all for coming," the weathered old mage greeted once the door was closed behind Takahata. "Sister Shitaki, if you would?"

The blond blinked.

"Thank you Dean," the humble woman replied as she stepped forward. "Last night, I was in charge of the University's Astronomy class, when one of the students made an interesting discovery. My initial thoughts were that she'd mistaken spotted a satellite or perhaps one of the Russian or American space-ships, but… well, you can see for yourself."

Pointing to the projector she waited for the dark image to appear, drawing several gasps from the gathered magi.

"This is a joke, right?"

"Aliens? Seriously?"

A feeling of dread crept up the blonde's spine.

"They're the Santovasku," the elegant woman beside him proclaimed.

All eyes immediately turned to the head of the Shinmeiryu as the proud kendoka stood beside her brother – the Dean's very own son-in-law.

"You know of them?" Konoe asked as he stepped forward.

"Our current investigation has led us to make some interesting discoveries," Takahata replied.

"Saotome?" the Dean muttered as he scratched his chin.

"Has picked up some interesting allies," finished Tsuruko. "Aside from being able to jump between parallel universes, he's made the discovery that only those who do not have a counterpart in the other world can travel between the two worlds – one of them happens to be an alien."

"One of these Santovasku?" Sister Shakti concluded.

Takahata shook his head. "No, she considered herself an Alpha Cygni, a member of the Galactic Police. She was pursuing a Santovasku though."

"It appears that something similar is happening in this world as in the other one," Eishin interjected. "From what our sources told us, the Cygni and Santovasku are ancient enemies. The Santovasku apparently kidnapped the Cygni's princess, and apparently triggered a galactic war between the two races."

"And somehow Earth is caught in the middle," muttered the Dean. "What can we do? Our sources in the government have confirmed that there is increased chatter in the space program of a discovery. From the size of the fleet I wouldn't be surprised if others have made this discovery."

Takahata glanced at his friend and her sister, unsure what to say.

"We hope that Saotome returns from the other world quickly," Tsuruko finally replied. "Perhaps he and his allies…"

Takahata resisted the urge to shake his head. Even if Ranma managed to get his original body back and get back to this dimension, could he really stop and an intergalactic alien war?

X X X X X

Few who knew him would dare to say that Leonard Testarossa was anything but fair tempered. Calm, collected, and calculating, the brilliant Whispered rarely took any risks as he weighed all his options. Losses he could accept, even when they were just outside of what he'd expected. The recent battle though was even riskier as he'd encountered a force that he'd suspected had greater firepower than his own, a rarity when once was using state of the art mecha like his miniaturized and unmanned Arm Slaves. Still, he'd expected his forces to suffer some losses, but expected their overwhelming numbers to make up for the difference in technology. He probably would have succeeded to if not for the blasted Ranma Saotome.

Not only had the mysterious Whispered martial artist thwarted his efforts to capture the alien dragon-ship, but Saotome and his allies had destroyed all the Arm Slaves and killed or captured nearly three-fourths of the troops he'd deployed.

With his resources depleted, Leonard was forced to rethink his options. Well, he would have, had Sophia not ordered him to take this new and unexpected course of action.

"You're sure this is where we need to go?" he asked the buxom redhead.

"Do not second guess me Leonard," Sophia replied without even so much as a glance back at him. "If Ranma has indeed regained his true body then this mission is of the utmost importance. We need to reach the Omni-sphere before he does."

"But the one that I've built"

"Is incomplete," Sophia finished. "The Omni-sphere that the Russians used to create and activate the Whispered is merely a copy. The true Omni-sphere is here in Japan. If I didn't use the delayed and re-routed command signal I'm sure that Mr. Gold and Urashima would still be in Japan, but now they're chasing ghosts in the Russia."

The silver-haired teen hated being misled, especially when it was he who was supposed to be in charge. Knowing that Sophia had ordered him to send his troops on a fool's errand irked the proud Whispered. Had she trusted him with that knowledge he would have graciously accepted the losses. Then again, perhaps that was the point. Had he sent a suicide squad the remnants of Amalgam might have caught on.

"I anticipated the fact that Ranma and company would interfere," Sophia explained. "Not only was the dragon-ship close to the Hinata Sou, where Ranma and his allies are based, but given the scale of the battle I knew that it wouldn't be long before Mithril became involved. Let them have the dragon-ship. With the Omni-sphere I will be able to control it once they repair it."

X X X X X

The chill of the morning air failed to clear the kendoka's mind even as she tried to concentrate on the handful of leaves in the wind. Careful, practiced strikes neatly cleaved the offending leaves in two.

"You're distracted," a sagely voice stated. "You're usually able to cut them down the stem of the leaf, but to see the uneven remains lead me to believe that you're still upset about being kidnapped."

Motoko paused, breathing deeply as she eyed the next target.

"You're the future heir of the Shinmeiryu," the shriveled old man stated. "You're the one who should be rescuing, not being rescued, right?"

Her blade flashed in the air, reflecting the light of the approaching dawn, missing the leaf completely.

"Few people could hope to stand toe-to-toe with that monster," Happosai scowled.

"It's not that he defeated us," Ryoko interjected as she sheathed her blade. "It's that we… I... I couldn't do anything to help Ranma!"

The admission stung the young kendoka.

"Keitaro has the Kusanagi," she spat out. "Yes, he's the better fighter, and he's Ranma's cousin"

"He also fights to protect Kanako," Happosai pointed out. "She fights because our Kanako died. Sagara fights for Kaname, Seta to help Ranma. Those three are the only ones other than Ranma and Birdy who can travel between the two worlds."

Hearing him state the obvious only hurt her all the more.

"You wish to help Ranma, do you not child?" the sagely old man asked.

Fighting back the tears, Ryoko nodded.

"Then support him."

Blinking away her tears, the slender kendoka tried to make sense of his words. "How? I'm not strong enough to fight like the others, I can't…"

"It's not physical strength that Ranma needs; the boy needs good friends, not just comrades. He needs someone to help him shoulder the weight of what he's doing, of what he's done; someone to let him know that when this is all over that he has somewhere to return to, someone to return to."

Her eyes now clear, Motoko saw the sun rising in the east, a new sense of purpose and determination in her heart.

X X X X X

A/N

I'll leave things here for now.

Happy Memorial Day, and thank you to all the troops, past and present who have served. It's because of you that we Americans have the rights that we enjoy and sometimes take for granted.

Dreamingfox


End file.
